NEWS FETCH – October 27, 2014

TOP NEWS

• Americans’ Initial Christmas Spending Estimate Is Positive
• Sonoma State Students raise a glass to the business of wine
• Beer Inches Closer To Regulatory Parity with Wine
• Northern Grapes Project Gets $2.6 Million USDA Grant
• Why Mark Cuban Invested $1 Million In This Boxed Wine Company
• Macau’s wine market will compete with Hong Kong’s
• Pinot Noir-finished whiskey released
• Moët Hennessy Extends Chandon Sparkling Brand In US
• Early Bird Pricing Ending Soon – Enter Your Brands in 2015 BTN USA Guide Now! *Sponsored Link*

PASSAGES

• Farewell to Wine Country pioneer John Culbertson
• Eric Dunham, Pioneering Washington Winemaker, Dies At 44

HARVEST 2014/GLOBAL WINE SUPPLY

• Calif Winegrape Harvest Early and Great
• Aussie wine production to rise 2%
• Climate change equals decreases in wine production
• Take control of your wine costing and set your prices with confidence *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Has The Decline of Calif Agriculture Has Begun?
• 70+ artisan winemakers to pour at Garagiste Wine Festival
• Road to Tahoe becomes a Wine Trail
• DTC Is Lifeblood of Wineries
• Garagiste Festival Seminar on New Paso Robles AVAs
• Kick start your DTC wine sales business with the DTC Consultant Network *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Unsafe water only adds to California drought misery
• Freshwater Pest Makes Coping with Drought More Difficult
• From saltwater to drinking water?
• Calif Water Commission hears update on DWR
• Judgment Day coming for water bond
• Think tank lukewarm on Prop. 1 water bond
• Sites becomes focus of water bond fight
• Supplemental Guide For Water Bond Costing Taxpayers Nearly $3 Million
• A dry winter could mean tougher restrictions
• Sustainability: A History *Sponsored Link*

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• PA: Grand Jury Probing Charges Of Misconduct At PLCB
• AR: New Shipping Law More Miss Than Hit
• AR: Liquor Stores Join Churches to Save Dry Counties
• SC: Fight on Sunday beer and wine sales low-key
• TN: Wine in food stores now up to voters

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Tesco: the giant canary in the mine

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Asian buyers drive London sale
• Liv-Ex Talking trade: 17th – 23rd October
• Bordeaux 2012: Good wines, but questions remain over price
• Investing in Liquid Assets: Uncorking Profits in Today’s Global Wine Market *Sponsored Link*

HEALTH

• Breathalizer app calls Uber if you’re drunk
• Cal Profs Angry Over College Beer Ads
• Minimum pricing still on agenda with Public Health England
• UK: Calls for research into alcohol advertising ban
• The Drunken Monkey: Why We Drink and Abuse Alcohol *Sponsored Link*

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Lucas Empire Strikes back At Strikes Bock
• Wine in America: Law and Policy *Sponsored Link*

MARKETING & SALES

• Hard-Won Lessons In Luxury Marketing
• Asda: Free diabetes test with sugar candy
• How To Pitch Your Brand In National Restaurant Chains *Sponsored Link*

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Ello’s future looks unclear
• The Future of Social Media Is Paid
• Two Critical But Often Overlooked Email Marketing Metrics
• Your name is a brand
• Social chatter is becoming more influential on purchasing and consumption decisions
• Launching New Wine Brand Without A Winery? *Sponsored Link*

IT: INFORMATION [AND] TECHNOLOGY

• OZ: Technology needn’t be high-tech when it comes to saving money in the winery
• Customer Wi-Fi a win for restaurants
• Why financial and legal experts are as critical as engineers to bitcoin’s future
• Avoid the ATM with Cash Delivery App
• CurrentC Is The Big Retailers’ Clunky Attempt To Kill Apple Pay And Credit Card Fees
• Tech More: Apple Apple Pay Apple Pay Is Nowhere Close To Replacing Your Wallet Yet

MEDIA MATTERS

• Heimoff Confronts Wine’s Semantic Problem
• 4 big threats native advertising faces in 2015
• Is living on principles a good thing?
• Wine Marketing & Sales, 2nd Edition *Sponsored Link*

GET YOUR KICKS FROM CHAMPAGNE

• Hundred Year Old Champagne Sells For $9,000 In London
• French celebrate blood, sweat and champagne of 1914
• Champagne taste doesn’t really matter
• Bubbles are back

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Austria steps up sparkling ambitions
• Beauty of whole berry Sangiovese fermentation
• Classic Chianti – The Rodney Dangerfield Of Italian Wine
• Dana Cowin of Food & Wine magazine
• Beaucastel Reflections
• Americans tend to drink white wines too cold and reds too warm
• Eyeballing wine
• Shadows in the Vineyard: The True Story of the Plot to Poison the World’s Greatest Wine *Sponsored Link*

WINE PEOPLE

• A new Rolland in New York
• Monsieur Bertrand’s Dream
• The Tastemakers: Why We’re Crazy for Cupcakes but Fed Up with Fondue *Sponsored Link*

OH CANADA!

• Ontario: Winter is ice wine season
• The Wines of Canada *Sponsored Link*

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Washington state wants to boost wine sales in Canada
• Washington wine industry pushes for more Canadian sales
• Wine trails forming in West Virginia
• Signs Show Way to Arkansas Wine Industry
• TN: Winemaker hoping new designation could uncork regional agri-tourism
• VA: Wine business flourishing in Nelson County
• TN: Should Wine Be In Grocery Stores?
• Beyond Jefferson’s Vines: The Evolution of Quality Wine in Virginia *Sponsored Link*

ACADEMIA

• Burgundy’s School of Wine & Spirits Business enrolment rises 30%

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Yield Impacts of No-till Farming Depend on Location
• Vines still available, order now!! **Sponsored Link*

EUROPE & THE UK

• French winemakers fear decimation of vineyards through disease
• A Ghostly Encounter in Burgundy
• UK: Trade bodies concerned about new licensing law guidance
• Waitrose extends Wincanton’s wine storage and distribution contract
• Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy*Sponsored Link*

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Barossa and Clare Valley split vineyards to create geological sub-regions
• Wines of the Southern Hemisphere: The Complete Guide *Sponsored Link*

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Winemaker’s Madeleine
• When Wine Isn’t Enough
• Wine Night or Beer Night?
• Wine cellar that became air raid shelter for Mussolini
• A Brief History Of The Wine Corkscrew
• It’s Time To Start Drinking Cider
• What is Brix?
• Whiff of the good stuff
• Unique Designer Wine Cases And Trunks
• Zoom: How Everything Moves: From Atoms and Galaxies to Blizzards and Bees *Sponsored Link*

OLIVE OIL

• Olive Oil Groups Dispute Standard Setting
• Students Design Device to Detect Indicators of Rancidity
• Executive Arrested in Taiwan Cooking Oil Scandal
• Italy Adopts EU Provisions on Non-Refillable Bottles
• US Retailer Costco Signs Deal to Import Cretan Olive Oil
• Olive Oil: From Tree to Table *Sponsored Link*