NEWS FETCH – February 26, 2014

TOP NEWS

• AB InBev keen to steal larger ‘share of throat’ from wine
• 2013 US Wine Exports Set Record, Up 16% to $1.55 Bil
• Ballot Measure Move to derail Cal High-Speed Rail
• With farm bill done, major issues remain for ag
• Consignment Wine Sales – Don’t Do Them!
• Wine Business Innovation Summit Awards

• Best practices that distributors use to grow profits: [Sponsored Link]

HARVEST 2014/GLOBAL WINE SUPPLY

• OZ: Margaret River 2014 harvest ‘strongest yet’ for white wines
• NZ: Marlborough: boom, bust, and boom again

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Italy, By Way of California
• Comments on Premiere Napa Valley 2014
• How Drought is Affecting Cover Crops in St. Helena Vineyards
• Vintner Dario Sattui recovering after bike crash, neck surgery
• Bodegas Salentein Retains Balzac Communications

• Introduction to Water in California [Sponsored Link]

DROUGHT/WATER

• Deadline Soon to apply for drought-related funds
• California water bond proposals now number seven
• Another water bond is floated in Legislature
• Turlock Irrigation District votes to cut in half its water deliveries to farms
• MID approves intra-district open-market sales of irrigation water
• Farmers respond in wake of ‘zero’ water allocation

• Water 4.0: The Past, Present, and Future of the World’s Most Vital Resource [Sponsored Link]

HMMMMMM …

• It Takes How Much Water to Grow an Almond?!
• Drought leads to early removal of almonds

DISTRIBUTORS, DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• Direct to consumer market key for Oregon wine
• SD: Senate delivers wine-shipping bill to House
• WI: Stores could begin offering free liquor samples under state bill
• WV: Wine bill hits wall

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• AB InBev reports 34% profit surge
• Diageo slammed for linking alcohol to toughness

FINANCE, M&A

• Horse Heaven Hills land to be auctioned
• CrowdWatch brings all crowdfund investing deals under one roof

• The West without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us about Tomorrow [Sponsored Link]

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Buyers target Cheval Blanc in Year of the Horse

• Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization [Sponsored Link]

HEALTH

• Resveratrol Supplements: A Follow-Up on Questionable Research

MARKETING & SALES

• Customers Need to be the Heart of Your Strategy
• Back Labels You Can Get Behind
• Gallo to get girls drinking Moscato

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Vinisud 2014: picture gallery
• ViniSud 2014, Day 2

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• 5 Social Media Changes Wineries Should Look For This Season
• BloomReach says it can track your customers without tracking-tracking them

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

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Legal minefield awaits ag employers, lawyer says
• Gallo plans office building with open work environment
• New Osha Standards Include Revised Safety Data Sheets

• Beating Obamacare: Your Handbook for the New Healthcare Law [Sponsored Link]

PARKER MATTERS

• Parker’s Remarks: Memorable but Disappointing
• On Robert Parker, and matters of taste
• Robert Parker Responds to Jon Bonné
• Robert Parker, live

• Beyond Chinatown: The Metropolitan Water District, Growth, and the Environment [Sponsored Link]

MATTERS OF TASTE

• The 2013 Crush Report and Cabernet Sauvignon
• Broadbent’s vast catalog of wine writing offers much to learn
• Williams Selyem Estate Vineyard
• The Napa Valley Uncorked: Tudal Family Winery
• Little Rascal Grapes

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

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• NY: Winter Weather Ravages Some Wine Grape Crops
• OR: Alex Sokol Blosser takes over winemaking

• Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water [Sponsored Link]

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Malolactic bacteria’s proteins mapped
• Natural Resource Conservation Service Pledges $3 Million for Honey Bee Health

• Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever [Sponsored Link]

EUROPE & THE UK

• Italy’s vintners to the rescue of Cremisan monks
• Bordeaux Mayor Attacks Winery Tax Breaks
• Major Rioja brand makes move into Rueda
• Italy’s new agriculture minister a glimmer of hope?

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

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Drought aid easier to get
• NZ: Breidecker harvest first off the blocks
• OZ: Ferry weight rule upsets wine grape harvest
• NZ: Rabobank wine export figures corrected
• OZ: Louisa Rose to chair the Australian Wine Research Institute Board

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China Wine List of the Year II: Three weeks to submit your menus

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

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• 3 Simple Steps to Boost Your Wine Pleasure

• The Control of Nature [Sponsored Link]

OLIVE OIL

• Protect the diverse flavors of olive oil

ALMONDS & OTHER TREE NUTS

• Warm weather ignites California almond blossom
• USDA: Walnut Acreage Up 15,000 In 2013
• Walnut Experts To Gather In Stockton

USSR REDUX

• Ukrainian ex-leader shows expensive taste