NEWS FETCH – July 11, 2014

TOP NEWS

• Alcohol does not benefit the heart says new British Medical Journal study
• Europe’s Latest Hailstorm Hits Barolo
• Table Wine Competition Heats Up As Sparkling Wine Surges
• Hills In A Hill of a Mess: The Jeff Factor
• Wineries May Lose Internet Domain Dispute
• Insurance, Solidarity and Social Media for Hail Victims
• Aussie premium wine not growing as fast as key competitors
• 15 Tips On Securing Distribution: How to Make Your Brand a Winner **Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa Valley wine makers with Fresno State roots
• Ste. Michelle helps Duckhorn plant Red Mountain vineyard
• A Casino in Napa Wine Country?
• AgTech Summit set for 2015 in Salinas Valley
• Mount St. Helena cattle ranch now Jericho Canyon Winery
• Early grape ripening starts in Napa valley
• 99 Seconds To Bigger Tasting Room Sales *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Drought cutting into wine grape production
• El Niño unlikely to end Calif drought
• Poor man’s polar vortex to make summer return in eastern U.S.
• Water Sustainability: A Global Perspective *Sponsored Link*

REGIONAL

• MN: Total Wine wins the fight for another Twin Cities store
• MA: Direct wine shipping: Progress, but problem not solved

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Pernod Takes Control Of Avión, Looks To Bolster Growth
• Interview, Part 2: Tom Looney, President, Diageo Guinness USA

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Liv-ex: Duhart-Milon
• Chinese buyers shy away from wine auction
• Shanghai free trade zone introduces traceable anti-counterfeiting system

HEALTH

• Does Eating Yeast Keep You From Getting Drunk?
• One glass of red wine a night is enough to damage health, say scientists
• The Drunken Monkey: Why We Drink and Abuse Alcohol *Sponsored Link*

MARKETING & SALES

• Precept Wine has formed a new sales and marketing partnership with sparkling wine producer Gruet
• Listening and responding to customers
• The Making of a Rosé-Colored Craze
• World Cup UK sales boost fizzes out
• Creating a Premium Brand: Learnings from a New Zealand Producer **Sponsored Link*

BRANDING

• Top 10 Wine Brands 2014
• Wine Brands: Success Strategies for New Markets, New Consumers and New Trends *Sponsored Link*

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Delectable or Vivino: A wine critic compares
• 5 More Ways to Avoid Being a Bad Email Marketer
• No ROI From Wine Social Media Efforts? You’re Using It Incorrectly
• Wine Marketing Online: How to use the newest tools of marketing to boost profits and build brands *Sponsored Link*

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Screw caps and cork equally favoured in UK
• The Other Guys Choose ZORK Wine Closures
• Wine label art show in Beijing
• The Art and Design of Contemporary Wine Labels*Sponsored Link*

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Tesco Wine Fairs set to attact 15,000 visitors to shows this autumn
• Trade Show & Event Marketing *Sponsored Link*

MEDIA MATTERS

• Live from the Wine Bloggers Conference
• Women of the Vine: Book Review and Personal Thoughts
• Wine Marketing & Sales, 2nd Edition *Sponsored Link*

MATTERS OF TASTE

• G.D. Vajra in Barolo – “clean traditionalist”
• You don’t have to buy a vineyard to be a winemaker
• How Different Soils Can Impact a Wine’s Profile
• Cava … Have you been living in a cave
• The Quiet Transformation
• What Wine Pairs With Soylent Green? (With what?: A Yummy From the 1970s)
• Wine Faults: Causes, Effects, Cures *Sponsored Link*

WINE & CRIME

• Bocelli lends name to jailhouse wine … But Not For Sing Sing Inmates
• Wine bottle foils robbery

ACADEMIA

• Bologna university, offers scholarships for world’s only food and wine MBA.
• Wine Victoria welcomes investment in R&D to fight Phylloxera

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Discovery could cut use of fertilizer by farmers
• EPA considers regs to curb herbicide resistance in weeds
• Understanding Vineyard Soils *Sponsored Link*

EUROPE & THE UK

• World Cup drinks sales to top £1bn but dry up as tournament reaches its end
• Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State*Sponsored Link*

DOWN UNDER

• Australians call for wine tax clampdown
• Wines of the Southern Hemisphere: The Complete Guide *Sponsored Link*

PIGGING OUT

• Fresno County canal breech blamed on wild pigs
• How About a Bacon Flavored Beer?