NEWS FETCH – APRIL 20, 2012

TOP NEWS

• Distilled Spirits and Wine Consumption Continue to Climb
• Top Italian Labels Driving Imported Sparklers In U.S.
• Restaurant sales and traffic drop in March
• Alabama winery group presses boycott of beer distributors
• Wine trends 2012: What the non-snob majority drinks
• Starbucks to phase out cochineal extract
• Crop insurance? It may be cheaper to give it away
• Drink Local 2012: one week away
• Restaurant lobbying: tax reform, debit fees, labor
• Banfi’s new guard wants to thaw Riunite wine image
• Licensees should have right to accept/reject each 3rd-party order

DIRECT SHIPPING (NOT!) IN ALABAMA

• AL: Small wineries fight to reach their customers
• What’s Wrong With Wine and Alabama?

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• SF Vintners Market performs for Sierra Foothill wines
• Liquidation of Copia wares set to start Friday
• Nine Heaven and More from Napa’s Shanghai Success
• Most California crops dodge hail damage

MARKETING, SALES & PROMOTION

• Who Has the Buying Power? Women, of course
• Line 39 Launches Restaurant Promo to pair Sauv Blanc

MEDIA MATTERS

• A Day In The Bizarre Life Of A Wine Critic
• Barefoot: Why We Write
• Young wine-loving students a breath of fresh air
• Parkergate Investigation: We Won!

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Standard flute or coupe no good for Champagne
• Wregg: Natural wine can’t age

WATER, ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Environmentalists, farmers take water quality fight to state
• Sustaining our wine, Pt. 1

U.S. REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Northwest’s Cliffhanger 2011 Wine Harvest
• MO: Winery gets green light
• NY: Keuka Worker Killed in Tractor Accident
• NY: New Viticulture Center in Geneva topic of state officials talk
• VA Launches Vineyard Sign Initiative to Boost Tourism
• WA: Impending liquor store closures = cheap wine for consumers

EUROPE & THE UK

• Swiss wine consumption slipped in 2011
• Cracks show in en primeur with Latour’s withdrawal
• Drinkaware chief exec resigns
• Decanter.com: Major survey of en primeur buyers
• Liv-ex: Suckling on Bordeaux 2011

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Pubs bought to combat wine whining
• NZ: Frost fighters stand by

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Lafite Battles Lafake in China

LATIN AMERICA

• Mendoza makes good as Argentina’s promising wine country

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Who’s Your Daddy?: Petite Sirah
• Breaking the Food-and-Wine-Matching Rules
• The reality behind ‘Bachelor’ Ben