NEWS FETCH – December 23, 2013

TOP NEWS

• Biggest Chinese Investment in Bordeaux Ends in Tragedy
• Edgar M. Bronfman Passes Away
• UK Wine Heist: Corks Out hit by Champagne raiders
• Mobile Sales Growing in Value

• Make Your Distributor Sales Calls Pay Off: BeverageTradeNetwork.com looks at how to make supplier visits more effective. [Sponsored Link]

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Will water crisis be California’s third-world moment?
• Jackson Family Buys Winery On Spring Mountain
• Low-wage industries weigh Fresno’s, Valley’s economy
• Replanting Napa Valley Vineyards
• The Ripken family’s “road less travelled” Christmas
• Report cites stewardship on farms in and around Stanislaus County

• The New California Wine: A Guide to the Producers and Wines Behind a Revolution in Taste [Sponsored Holiday Shopping Link]

COUNTERFEIT WINE: POST MORTEMS AND MUSINGS

• Counterfeit wine : A vintage crime
• Lessons learned from recent fake wine scandals
• A few thoughts on the Rudy Kurniawan trial
• Trial outcome was a foregone conclusion
• Top 5 Wine Frauds (a broader perspective)

DISTRIBUTORS, DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• Roles and Obligations of Alcoholic Beverage Distributors
• TN: Wine in grocery stores sparks fight

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• United Spirits shares fall after court annuls Diageo deal
• Interview: Gerry Ruvo, Chairman And CEO, Campari America

FINANCE, M&A

• Gusbourne Estate to expand vineyards, winery with Barclays funding
• Drouhin buys Roserock vineyard in Oregon

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• The World’s Most Expensive Faulty Wine
• 2013 Was Challenging for Fine Wine Market
• Italian Wine in 2014 – Personal Strategies for Collecting

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

HEALTH

• Effects of alcohol consumption on the risk of gout

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• TTB Advice On Wine Export Certificates for China
• Proposed alcohol tax in Indiana could fall flat
• South Dakota Takes Wine Product Registration Online
• Beer distributor challenges Indiana strict liquor laws

MARKETING & SALES

• Wine marketing is all about storytelling. Or is it?
• China says cheers to South Africa’s wines

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

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Top 10 social media analytics tools
• Target breach: Millions of credit cards hit black markets
• How a programmer paid $6M in Bitcoin for two pizzas

• The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World’s Great Drinks [Sponsored Holiday Shopping Link]

MATTERS OF TASTE

• How smart is your nose?
• Wine in Argentina : a Study in Contrasts
• What is a grape variety? What is a clone?
• Six Degrees of Cru, and Why AMC=SAC

• The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert: Take a Whiff of That [Sponsored Holiday Shopping Link]

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Auction of Washington Wines hires new leader

• Canadian Wineries: The story of Canada’s entry into the world of world-class vintages [Sponsored Holiday Shopping Link]

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• PD Resistant Vines Available in 2015?

• Postmodern Winemaking: Rethinking the Modern Science of an Ancient Craft [Sponsored Holiday Shopping Link]

EUROPE & THE UK

• M&S issues apology in row over Champagne sale refusal

• Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer’s Tour of France [Sponsored Holiday Shopping Link]

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• The Foamability of Sparkling Wine
• A Simple Guide to Champagne, Sparkling Wine and other bubbly labels.

• Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey [Sponsored Holiday Shopping Link]

OLIVE OIL

• Greece Flip-Flops on EVOO Labeling
• Early Harvest Release Brings Fresh Oils to New York New York

ALMONDS & OTHER TREE NUTS

• How To Choose Almond Rootstocks

CRAFT BEER, CIDER & SPIRITS

• California leads nation in beer-centric economic activity
• Sonoma Cider gets some love from Forbes

JUST CAN’T MAKE STUFF LIKE THIS UP

• New Home Office advice: drink 60 units of alcohol a day if you want to paint really well
• Church finds a home in an Orlando bar