NEWS FETCH – January 29, 2014

TOP NEWS

• Calif Drought Burns $5 Billion Hole
• Chinese become world’s top tipplers of red wine
• New Almond Disease Can Be Devastating
• Saralee Kunde Dies at 66

• Craft Distilleries Grow From Embryonic Stage [Sponsored Link]

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Bartenders In Gloves: Sanitation Overkill?
• Trinchero Family Estates aims to ‘get back in black’ in UK
• Warm weather waking up dormant Napa grapevines
• Groups decry change to Calif. ag education grant program
• Out in the Vineyard Presents ‘The Big Gay Train 2014′

• The Wine Savant: A Guide to the New Wine Culture [Sponsored Link]

DROUGHT/WATER

• Calif curtailment notice underlines depth of drought
• Oakdale Irrigation District directors vote to reject Westlands water deal
• Lawsuit filed to stop new water wells in Stanislaus County
• Drought could limit Napa Valley winegrape crop
• Mendocino Winegrowers Weigh Drought Options
• Valley GOP leaders regroup after drought-relief maneuver fails
• Water Tunnel Foes say Gov. is suppressing public comment

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• TN: Wine in groceries bill starts to roll

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Truett-Hurst Sets Earnings Release Date
• France’s Maison Sichel celebrates bumper year with sales up 6%
• Constellation Brands Down to Neutral
• Diageo to hike stake in USL?
• Pernod bets on innovation for growth

FINANCE, M&A

• Demand for Calif wine investments never higher
• Calif Winery Consolidation

• When the Money Runs Out: The End of Western Affluence [Sponsored Link]

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Wine Sales Drop for Second Year as Bordeaux Demand Wanes

• Breakfast at Sotheby’s [Sponsored Link]

HEALTH

• Health drives wine consumption in China

MARKETING & SALES

• Is Pappy Van Winkle the New Harlan?
• Pernod Targets Cocktail Drinkers at Home With Spirits Dispenser

• How to use Twitter for your Wine Business and Marketing [Sponsored Link]

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Vinexpo to increase emphasis on spirits

• Planning Wine Trade Show Participation [Sponsored Link]

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Heimoff on social media
• 5 Social Media Monitoring Tools
• Social Media Response Rates, Times Dip as User Engagement Explodes

• Writing on the Wall: Social Media – The First 2,000 Years [Sponsored Link]

MEDIA MATTERS

• Kurniawan film goes into production

• The Trip to Echo Spring: On Writers and Drinking [Sponsored Link]

MATTERS OF TASTE

• The Place of Wine in Argentine Culture
• A Glimpse of Sta Rita Hills

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

EUROPE & THE UK

• The man behind the Bordeaux image
• Understanding of the UK Spirits Market

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

DOWN UNDER

• Wine grape diversity is decreasing in Australia

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• How Asia Works: Success and Failure in the World’s Most Dynamic Region [Sponsored Link]

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Wine math, equivalences

• The Science of Cheese [Sponsored Link]

OLIVE OIL

• Oliver Oil Importers Call NYTimes Piece Defamatory

CRAFT BEER & SPIRITS

• Domestic beer falling flat