NEWS FETCH – MARCH 27, 2012

TOP NEWS

• Wine Shipments Up – Interstate Shipments to Thank?
• Sonoma’s Soda Rock Winery Buys Pezzi King Vineyards
• What the Korean free trade agreement means for California
• The Lou I Knew – Louis J. Foppiano
• Multistate Appellations OK For Imports: TTB
• Obesity and alcohol linked to liver disease rise
• How Mendocino County Can Get Ahead
• That Song Playing In Your Tasting Room Needs A License
• Healthcare, The Supreme Court and Wine

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 2012 HARVEST

• Argentina: Early grape harvest for 2012
• Australian floods blight vintage in Riverina

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Wet Enough For Ya? California Precip Makes Sprint for the Finish Line
• SF legislator makes valley farming a priority
• California Grape and Tree Fruit League airs concerns
• California Wines Get “Down to Earth” with New April Celebration
• VinoPRO Promotes Donnie Varner to Director of Sales
• MacPhail Family Wines Adds Distribution
• Bank of Marin forming Sonoma advisory board
• Winery Cats Helping Sustainability Efforts in Sonoma.

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• Beer Distributors Tout State Alcohol Regulation
• Oregon Liquor agency head says Gov. pressing to remove him

PUBLIC COMPANIES & INVESTING

• 3 Stocks To Ride The Growing Trend In Wine Consumption
• Diageo Boss Still in High Spirits, Though Succession Is on His Mind
• Liv-ex: The Lafite premium
• Andre Lurton sells stake to Credit Agricole
• Diageo brands continue to lead Impact Databank’s Top 100 premium

MATTERS OF TASTE

• A wine guide does away with scores and ratings
• The 100 point rating system is dead. Vive the 100 point system!
• The “Sideways” effect on Merlot is officially dead
• Consumers need education that ‘less is more’ on flavour
• Chenin blanc’s a charming chameleon
• The Essence of Wine: Green Bell Pepper

ONLINE, TECH & SOCIAL MEDIA

• Key Insights from Altimeter’s Digital Influence Report

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Alternatives to Casein as Non-Allergenic Fining Agents for White Wine
• Fruit and wine quality are not affected by grafting

U.S. REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Midwest Growers Anxious About Frost Risk
• IL: Evanston OKs alcoholic drinks in Century’s movie theaters
• NY: Cold threatens Erie County fruit crop
• NY: Jefferson CC to offer wine management program
• OR: How Portland became obsessed with Italian vino
• UT: Federal judge dismisses hospitality industry liquor suit
• WI: Growers Risk Major Losses if Freezing Temps Return

EUROPE

• Organic wine growing gains ground in France
• Ex-Mafia land produces award-winning Italian wine
• Major Wine producer Murfatlar Romania declared insolvent

THE UK

• New English Vineyard to Produce 1 Million Bottles of Champagne a Year
• Hedge-Fund Chief Plans Sparkling Wine in Biggest UK Vineyard
• Chateau Alfriston: The Sussex vineyard cashing in on demand for English wine
• UK to host Riesling Summit

OH CANADA!

• More Canadians getting taste for wine over beer

PACIFIC RIM

• OZ: Prince Hill Wines in administration
• OZ: Hunter Semillon can learn from SA Riesling
• Bangalore’s Grover Vineyards merges with Valle De Vin

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• 10 Things Alcohol is Excellent At (Besides Getting You Drunk)
• Red and white wines for the Passover seder

APPOINTMENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

• WineAmerica Hires Manager of Member Services

C’MON FOLKS! You want people to read your words or NOT?

• get yer jaja’s out…
• The 1855 scandal: an open letter and appeal to journalists and writers attending the 2011 Bordeaux en primeurs’ tastings
• True luxe & flagellation at the 2012 World of Pinot Noir
• The Greatest California Vineyard You Don’t Know About (Communing – And Drinking! – With Old Souls In Lodi)
• Not Just Another Wine Event: #WineRiot
• My Wine Epiphanies
• Will capitalism eventually cannibalize itself? (Rant of the week)
• Daily Wine News: Petite Sirah

Write a short headline that means something to somebody or just hit DELETE.

Long, obscure headlines invite people to leave. Quickly.

Sometimes I have the time to re-write a headline. Sometimes, like today, I don’t. There are some good points in the links below. But you wouldn’t know it from the deadlines. So, a few thoughts on headlines:

If you’re going to take the time to write it, take enough time to write a head that attracts readers. Otherwise, recognize yourself as an existential masochist screaming into the void.

Put yourself in a reader’s shoes and answer the big question: “who cares?”

You better answer that fast and well.

And that means getting rid of meaningless first words and phrases like “Monday Moanings” or “What I liked today,” or “Humongous Megacorp, a major supplier of something another, announced blah today that …” Clue: nobody cares.

You MUST tell people why something matters, what it does and why they NEED to read your short, meaningful headlines.

Active verbs folks. Hint: “announce” ain’t active enough to matter.