NEWS FETCH – September 16, 2013

TOP NEWS

• Big Calif North Coast Harvest Squeezes Production Space
• Stagnant Aug restaurant sales dampen outlook
• Calif Legislature approves $10 minimum wage
• Taxpayers Pay High Costs for Crop Insurance Subsidies
• Fingerprinting firewater to bust whiskey fraud

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• El Dorado County Harvest
• Wine Firms Among Sonoma County’s fastest-growing companies
• Wine Direct Opens Paso Fulfillment and Warehouse Operation
• Sonoma Harvest Fair honors Sangiacomos
• Ton of raisins stolen from Madera Co. vineyard
• Wine country sprouts in downtown Napa
• Napa: How many tasting rooms are enough?

• Your harvest can benefit by running 170 fully-automated analyses per hour. [Sponsored Link]

DISTRIBUTORS, DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• DtC Shipment Growth Leads Wine Metrics
• BC Liquor Policy Review in Full Stride
• 7 Cos Approved as Logistics Shippers in North Dakota

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Moët-Hennessy to launch home grown sparkling wine to Indian wine market
• Diageo investors target £18.2m ex-boss Paul Walsh
• Packaging Corp. to buy Boise for $1.28 billion

FINANCE, M&A

• Rich Bet On Farms & Rail Cars As Yield Hunt Brings Risks

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Latour 2000 Drops To $12,950

• Investing in Liquid Assets: Uncorking Profits in Today’s Global Wine Market [Sponsored Link]

HEALTH

• Toxicologist wary of adding medicinal properties to wine

MARKETING & SALES

• BTN Launches Wine Broker Search Platform
• 5 tips for successful business logo design
• Wine no longer enough, buyers want the backstory
• Yao Ming winery sees white wine potential in China

• Wine Brands: Success Strategies for New Markets, New Consumers and New Trends [Sponsored Link]

MEDIA & BOOKS

• The irrelevance of blogs that say the 100-point system is irrelevant
• Storytelling Ads May Be Journalism’s New Peril
• Sponsored Blog Posts: 9 Tips to Get More for Your Money
• The Blend ~ Celebrating 5 Years

MATTERS OF TASTE

• A new importer lauds artisanal lambrusco
• Losing wood: the death of the barrel
• Is Pinot over rated?
• The Grape That Dare Not Speak Its Name
• Nero d’Avola just might be the next Malbec
• Invasive Species
• Rough Around the Edges
• The Search for the Perfect Wine Glass (continued)
• VIDEO: Lodi’s Cal/Ital Wine styles
• An Indecent Proposal: Warm White Wine And Plastic Cups
• Grand Daddy of Cal Wine Events: Family Winemakers

• The Wine Bible [Sponsored Link]

WATER, ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Evaluation of Pesticide Residues at Schools in Close Proximity to Vineyards in South Africa
• Ecosystem Services Database Sheds Light on Farmland’s Multiple Benefits
• Tests show GM traits in Washington alfalfa samples

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Farm Safety Week Kicks Off
• Agricultural technology use growing in California
• Growers seek pesticide alternatives

• Understanding Wine Technology, 3rd Edition [Sponsored Link]

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Web Carousels: Fanciful Amusement Or House of Horrors?
• Wine E-commerce: Vines OS Review

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Etiquette As Key To Success

• From Bubbles to Boardrooms: Act 1: Startups Are Such Fun By Michaela Rodeno [Sponsored Link]

WINE EDUCATION

• Masters celebrate 60 years this week

U.S. REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• AZ: Takes aim at wine’s big leagues
• WI: Clover Meadow on the frontier of state’s organic wine industry

EUROPE & THE UK

• Harvest update from Ornellaia’s Masseto & points beyond
• One Last Harvest
• UK consumers trading up on Chilean wine
• EU seeks freeze on .wine, .vin domain registration

• Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure [Sponsored Link]

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Quality, price & distribution: Three key challenges for Chinese wine producers
• S.Korea Wine imports surge 23.5%

SOUTH AFRICA

• Young vintners put SA on map

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Malbec by region of origin (Infographic)

• Wine For Dummies [Sponsored Link]

RANDOM WINE REVIEW OF THE DAY

• From the Random Wine Review Generator

“Bob’s Vineyards brings us rare marijuana undertones and a chunky shrimp aroma in their 2012 Pinot Noir.”

---