NEWS FETCH – July 14, 2014

TOP NEWS

• Fake big-brand wine on the rise
• Direct Shipping To Massachusetts–Finally!
• Restaurant same-store sales growth lackluster in Q2
• Consumers Spending More, Just Not on Things They Want
• Farm to warfare: UC Davis institute stands watch against agroterrorism
• Climate change signals the end of Australian shiraz as we know it
• Ag seeks to create right to farm
• EPA chief defends proposed clean water rules
• 10 Must-Have Documents to Have Ready For Your Distributor Meeting **Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• A Call to Action to Preserve California Ag Land
• Nothing New In SJ County Ag Commissioner’s Pesticide Drift Press Release
• Beckstoffer Vs Boisset: Raymond winery proposal returns to county planners
• Yountville Hill Winery opponents still debating appeal
• Planning Commission stalls Copia rezone
• Central Coast veraison suggests a late-Aug harvest
• Sonoma Wine grapes ripening for harvest
• WWS Roundtable offers C-Level Winemaker’s Financial Finesse
• Five Hot Ideas To Grow Your Tasting Room Traffic *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Unusual water deals struck in drought-stricken Central Valley ag country
• Cal Low On Water? Time to Fine the Water Resources Board Not Its Citizens
• Californians facing $500 a day water fines
• Irrigation efficiency, financial options help weather drought
• Water Sustainability: A Global Perspective *Sponsored Link*

MASS. MARKETING

• Massachusetts Reconciles Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Law
• Massachusetts Approves DtC Law
• Family Winemakers cheered by passage of Mass. direct shipping law

FINANCE, M&A

• KKR’s Spurned Offer for Treasury Puts Focus on Penfolds
• Secret Path Revealed for Moving Chinese Billions Overseas

DISTRIBUTORS

• Beyond 1,000 Cases: How To Guarantee Repeat Sales
• Best Practices for Distributor Relations: Hidden Costs
• Brand New: The Shape of Brands to Come *Sponsored Link*

HEALTH

• A wandering, muddled critique of the latest “all alcohol is bad” study (Next 2 links, for example)
  
• Alcohol does not benefit the heart, claims new study
• It’s your genes, not the wine
• The Drunken Monkey: Why We Drink and Abuse Alcohol *Sponsored Link*

REGULATION & COMPLIANCE

• Food Babe takes on the scandal of wine labeling

LEGAL MATTERS

• First Cigarettes, Now Alcohol: Toward “Plain Packaging” For All
• Penfolds suffers from cyber squatters
• Wine in America: Law and Policy *Sponsored Link*

MARKETING & SALES

• Wine industry not very good at reaching out to new drinkers
• Execs to Marketers: Show Me the Metrics
• Insights From One Of China’s Largest Wine Importers **Sponsored Link*

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• 5 Ways to Build Trust With Your Company’s Online Audience
• These New Facebook Stats Might Change How You Post
• Wine Marketing Online: How to use the newest tools of marketing to boost profits and build brands *Sponsored Link*

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• VIDEO: Great Recession being replaced by the skills divide
• How to Launch your Wine Career: Dream Jobs in America’s Hottest Industry *Sponsored Link*

MEDIA MATTERS

• Heimoff’s advice to the wine bloggers conference
• Wine Marketing & Sales, 2nd Edition *Sponsored Link*

MATTERS OF TASTE

• What We Really Taste When We Drink Wine
• My Dear John Letter to Moscato
• Judgment: Pennsylvania, California wines split blind tasting
• S.Africa’s new wine era
• Jura: The New Burgundy
• What Jane Goodall taught me about wine science
• Organic vs. biodynamic, what is the difference?
• The Back Label: 10,000 Hours Works Magic
• North Yuba County is attracting notice for its burgeoning wine industry

ACADEMIA

• OR: MBA students soak up business at Brooks Winery

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• How to manage in vine the green aroma in wines
• Understanding Vineyard Soils *Sponsored Link*

EUROPE & THE UK

• Chateau Fife on its way as vineyard prepares to make first-ever Scottish wine
• Bargain Booze owner hails profit surge

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• No brands please, we’re wine lovers. Why the Chinese are cleverer than us.
• China’s entry-level wine market gets boost
• Thirst for Wine – Inside China’s Wine Industry: The Success Factors of Marketing Wine in China *Sponsored Link*

SOUTH AFRICA

• Good performance for South African wine exports
• Wines of the New South Africa: Tradition and Revolution *Sponsored Link*

OLIVE OIL

• EC Agricultural Penalties Against Greece in connection to olive oil financing
• Discrimination and identification of geographical origin virgin olive oil
• The interaction between plastic food packaging and olive oil
• Use of de-oiled pomace as a tool for weed control in olive orchards.
• Olive Oil: From Tree to Table *Sponsored Link*

CRAFT BEER & SPIRITS

• Light beers victim of US craft success
• The Craft Beer Revolution