NEWS FETCH – March 7, 2014

TOP NEWS

• Beckstoffer Purchases Mendocino and Red Hills Vineyards
• El Nino Coming: good news for weather woes
• Feb another challenging month for restaurants
• Cerberus Buys Safeway, Merges It With Albertsons
• Audit shows NASS crop report vulnerability

• Building A National Wine, Beer or Beverage Brand? [Sponsored Link]

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Save this historic California vineyard
• Edgy: The Western Sonoma Coast
• B.R. Cohn Scales Back To Refocus On High-End Cabernet
• The Battle of Sonoma Town
• Sonoma State students, Winery & Olivers Stomp Out Loans
• Court filings challenge Bottle Rock payments
• New board named for Paso wine group
• Napa City Winery hires chef

• Introduction to Water in California [Sponsored Link]

DROUGHT/WATER

• Mecham says Paso Robles water district dead
• Drought Data System Reauthorized
• Northern California drought update, in two pictures
• 12 Ways to Save Water During the Drought
• Drought-Tolerant Jujube gains with Aussies
• Ranchers impacted by drought told to keep good records

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

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• UK Supplier Bankruptcy Prompts $400K Truett-Hurst Charge
• Concha aims to double UK sales

DISTRIBUTORS, DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• OH: Wholesalers poured big bucks into lawmakers’ campaigns

FINANCE, M&A

• Pinault Buying Stake in Three Bordeaux Vineyards
• Bitcoin ecosystem completed at Paso’s Mondo Cellars

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

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Ornellaia trumpets investment appeal

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

HEALTH

• Wine May Reduce CVD Risk in Diabetics

REGULATION & COMPLIANCE

• FDA’s New Proposed Nutrition Label and its Effects on Alcohol Beverages
• AZ: Bill would allow winemakers to distill leftover grapes

MARKETING & SALES

• Hispanics Rely Heavily on Digital Devices for Local Shopping
• Land-Focused vs. Hand-Focused Wines
• Service is key to sales at wineries
• Rhone Valley Promo Targets US
• Successfully Market Your Brand’s Story With Multiple Platforms

• Business Owners: Ask yourself how you did … so you can do better [Sponsored Link]

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• New Vinexpo chief open to idea of starting new shows around the world

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Are data scientists now available for just $30 an hour?
• Wine E-commerce Checkout that Converts
• How to Get More eCommerce Conversions

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

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Having a Good Reason For Changing a Name

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

MEDIA MATTERS

• Score Wars: Hedges Vs Spectator
• Vine Smuggler No Hero To Growers & Nurseries
• Broadcast Booze: TV Shows Get Into the Wine Biz
• Weirdness at the Wine Advocate
• Parker’s putdowns
• The Wine Blogger’s Prayer
• Turkey may fine Social media users/bloggers for drink photos

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

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Exploring Israeli wine
• Reclaiming California’s Vino Diversity
• Bubbles Rising: Sparkling Trend in Santa Barbara?
• The New Face of Barolo Wines
• Argentine Malbec: Old dog, new tricks
• Drinking Tatomer Gruner and Riesling

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

OH CANADA!

• B.C. wine to show up on grocery store shelves next year

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

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• NY: Why winemaking is good for New York

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

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Concrete Evidence

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

EUROPE & THE UK

• Italian wine takes top spot in Scandinavia

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

DOWN UNDER

• Xenophon wants wine rebate to NZ growers scrapped

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

IT’S PART OF THE GAME, PAL

• ‘Drunk’ gambler sues Vegas casino

BIZARRE

• Giant Cask Wine Bag Considered “Art” Down Under