NEWS FETCH – May 7, 2014

TOP NEWS

• Casella Wines Rebrands Itself
• Fortunes Made In California drought
• Spirits, Wine Struggling On-Premise
• 2012 Ag Census Reveals Record Sales
• French bulk wine availability remains tight
• 8 Ways To Stay Close To Your Distributor And Build Your Brand *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Duarte Nursery draws 2,400 ‘friends’ at annual event
• California bill would require labels on GMO crops, foods
• California’s Underdog Grapes
• Shannon Ridge Family of Wines Hires Jason Welch as Winemaker
• Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping And The Fate Of America’s Fresh Waters *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Sierra Club California pans Paso Robles water bill
• Report on sinking groundwater makes statewide case for new rules
• Water Sustainability: A Global Perspective *Sponsored Link*

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• TN Grocery stores use election to launch wine effort
• PA Democrats blast wine privatization
• How to Import Wine: An Insider’s Guide *Sponsored Link*

REGULATION & COMPLIANCE

• NYSLA Expands Suppliers’ Ability to Entertain Consumers
• Avoiding Label Approval Issues

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• TWE cloning Foster’s 2009 review; Pernod Ricard deal unlikely
• CNBC Transcript: LVMH Chairman & CEO Bernard Arnault
• New products lift Truett-Hurst sale
• Tianjin Development to Sell Dynasty Fine Wines Stake to Parent
• A Guide to Investment, Innovation and Business Opportunities in the Water Sector *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• The ‘Anti-primeur’ Bordeaux guide
• Liv-ex Bordeaux 2013 competition results
• Scotch Malt Whisky Investment & Enjoyment *Sponsored Link*

CHATEAU SORTA-LAFITE

• Half of Château Lafite sold in China is fake
• Fake Bordeaux in China made on offshore boats

FAKE WINE & SPIRITS NEWS

• Antique Wine Co founder, former Yquem director disagree on 1787 wine
• Scientists ‘fingerprint’ firewater to bust US whiskey fraud

HEALTH

• How to Tell if Your Wine Habit is Healthy
• FDA Should Block Approval of Powdered Alcohol: NY Senator
• Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol *Sponsored Link*

MARKETING & SALES

• Amazon’s top-selling wines : They’re not all Chardonnay
• Champagne’s over the top sales blather
• Social Networkers Keep Brand Interactions Positive
• Find the Right Broker for your Wine, Beer, and Spirits *Sponsored Link*

TECHNOLOGY

• ShipCompliant Launches New Automated Service
• AutoFile – Fully Automated Filing & Payments
• How to switch shopping cart abandonment from a hassle to an opportunity

WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA

• Slider/Carousel Design Will Sabotage Your Web Page Traffic & Visibility
• Pandora Tests New Ad Unit ‘Promoted Stations’ With Taco Bell, Diageo
• Top 25 Wine Tweeters
• Commoners use OpenTable, fabulous jet-setters are booking on Table8
• How to Get Five Million Users to See Your Brand on YouTube For Free? *Sponsored Link*

MEDIA MATTERS

• Wine Manga The Drops of God to End in June
• Wine Marketing & Sales, 2nd Edition *Sponsored Link*

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Environment has profound effect on taste
• The growth of South African garagistes
• Can Douro Do Grand Cru ?
• Magnums best format for Champagne
• Dom Pérignon Will Outlive the iPhone
• Barossa needs more honest style
• Geographic indicators, and the changing seasons
• Umami: Unlocking the Secrets of the Fifth Taste *Sponsored Link*

TASTEMAKERS

• Science, passion blend for SF artisan winemaker
• Cosmological Wine With Neil deGrasse Tyson
• Spain’s rockstar winemaker, Alvaro Palacios
• Jamie Oliver Tackles “Intimidating World of Wine”
• Wine Faults: Causes, Effects, Cures *Sponsored Link*

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Southern Oregon Wine Institute gets grant
• Woodinville’s Wine Village Zoning Hassles
• Beyond Jefferson’s Vines: The Evolution of Quality Wine in Virginia *Sponsored Link*

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Thinking Outside the Bottle – Are Kegs The Future For Wine?
• The Art and Design of Contemporary Wine Labels*Sponsored Link*

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Aussie Egg shortage: a Fine(ing) Hassle
• Winery extends its ocean-aging experiment
• Understanding Vineyard Soils *Sponsored Link*

EUROPE & THE UK

• Smugglers jailed over £2m alcohol fraud
• Conviviality Retail reports flat sales at Bargain Booze
• Legal issue delays disgorgement date labelling
• Wines of the New South Africa: Tradition and Revolution *Sponsored Link*

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Where do we get our taste for dry wine?
• Why It’s Okay to Send Back that Bottle of Wine
• The Life & Legacy Of Veuve Clicquot – With All The Juicy Bits Left In
• Seasons Among the Vines: Life Lessons from the California Wine Country and Paris *Sponsored Link*

CRAFT BEER & SPIRITS

• Brewery plans $100k big bottle
• The Craft Beer Revolution: How a Band of Microbrewers Is Transforming the World’s Favorite Drink *Sponsored Link*