NEWS FETCH – March 31, 2014

TOP NEWS

• Your Winery Could Be Worth Less Than You Think
• Bordeaux to invest €20m in wooing trade and consumers
• Santa Barbara, Bordeaux, Bourgogne/Chablis Sign Place Name Pact
• Farm Credit Assns Pledge $100K For Cal Drought Hunger Relief
• Jailed after buying water in AlcoSting, Student sues Va for $40m

• Are You Really Ready To Pitch A Distributor: Here’s Your Checklist [Sponsored Link]

HARVEST 2014/GLOBAL WINE SUPPLY

• OZ: Wineries still on track for ‘first class’ vintage
• French bulk wine prices soar

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Staglin Says 2012 and 2013 best in Napa’s history
• California Producers Approve State Olive Oil Commission
• SF City Winery readies for mid-April debut
• George Altamura buys Napa’s Old Adobe

• Introduction to Water in California [Sponsored Link]

DROUGHT/WATER

• Farms now digging deeper for water
• VIDEO: Courtland farmer explains opposition to proposed Delta dams
• Delta Stewardship consultant says state is in a 500-year drought
• U of Nevada Launches “Living With Drought” Website

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

DISTRIBUTORS, DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• Pennsylvania, wine prices, women winemakers

PUBLIC COMPANIES, FINANCE, M&A

• Diageo Shuffle reflects Chinese growth engine

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

HEALTH

• Should Alcoholic Beverages be Banned for Breast-Feeding Moms?
• Urinary Tartaric Acid Levels as a Proxy for Self-Reported Wine Consumption
• Diabetes expert: Juices are the worst, you might as well drink Coke

MARKETING & SALES

• Why do imports seem to cost less than domestic wines?
• Build loyalty with your wine club
• Chloe – one of the future faces of wine

• Understand the Retailer, their Market and their Buyers [Sponsored Link]

PACKAGING

• Packaging – uniqueness counts
• Wine labels : a world of innovation

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Women in beverage industry gather to inspire and support
• England to put Olympic spirit into wine symposium
• ProWine China 2014 to add 50% more space

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Advanced Tips for Wine, Beer and Spirit Social Media Accounts
• The Ultimate SEO Checklist – Are you doing it right?

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

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Washington Merlot Fights Back
• Sommelier Interview: Gene Alexeyev
• Logotype, Robert Parker, and Rejection
• Petite Sirah revisited
• Israeli Winemakers Strive for Greatness
• This Has To Be The Worst Review For a Wine Ever

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

ACADEMIA

• Cornell Shows Off New Teaching Winery

WINE TOURISM

• Bordeaux gears up to welcome tourists
• Wine Tourism in Argentina Healthy But Faces Challenges

OH CANADA!

• Buzet’s winery is a progressive co-operative

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

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Taste Washington patrons can help with mudslide disaster
• WA: Construction may begin in fall on wine-inspired development

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

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Whole Foods executive clarifies stand on GMO labels

• Chinatown (DVD) [Sponsored Link]

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Bears A Winery Problem? Try Cheap Perfume & A Taser
• What grapevines do when everybody is sleeping?

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

EUROPE & THE UK

• Death Of Troplong Mondot Owner Casts Shadow Over En Primeur Week
• Bordeaux 2013: A war against nature
• Skinny pink Champagne to launch in UK
• Are interruptions in Georgia’s wine export economic warfare?

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

AUSTRALIA

• Margaret River winemakers challenge Cape Mentelle over Wallcliffe name
• Aussie Wineries hit the wall
• Australian wine sales hit hard by Chinese austerity drive

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

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Sexual Fantasies in the Cellar with Jim Clendenen
• The Hippest Winery In Mexico Is Made Of Recycled Boats

• The Control of Nature [Sponsored Link]

OLIVE OIL

• Worldwide Study of Olive Oil Growers’ Production Costs
• Expert Says Eradication of New Olive Tree Disease in Europe Unlikely
• A Brief History of Olive Oil in Colombia