NEWS FETCH – December 5, 2014

TOP NEWS

• Winery buying spree expected to ease on North Coast
• Off-Premise alcohol sales to show modest growth in 2015
• Obama Immigration Order Not Enough For Wine
• Napa’s poor showing on Spectator’s Top 100
• Interview, Part Two: Vintage Point’s David Biggar
• Grand Marnier Denies Sale Rumors
• U.S. Small Business Optimism Highest Since Early 2008
• Top 30 suppliers control 90% of wine lists in UK on-trade
• Take control of your wine costing and set your prices with confidence *Sponsored Link*

GLOBAL WINE SUPPLY

• OZ: Patchy Riverland storm damage won’t affect this year’s vintage
• 2015: Stable Global Demand with Advantages for Wines from Cool Climates
• China has more Carmenère than Chile
• Australian winemakers turn to alternative grape varieties
• Save time and money – order ProWein 2015 tickets online at reduced rates! *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Rain a Welcome Relief for California Vineyards
• California’s shrinking workforce has troubling implications
• Mead-making at UC Davis
• Living roofs take root in wine country

DROUGHT/WATER

• 2014 Water Year in Review, part 2: Urban water conservation, agricultural impacts, water transfers
• Proposed GOP overhaul of California water laws looks dead
• Train of storms to drench Northern California through mid-month
• Storm soaks region, but drought’s grip still tight

DIRECT SALES

• Naked Wines is UK’s most popular specalist online wine retailer
• Over 40% of Brits will buy wine online this Christmas
• Grow Direct To Consumer Sales *Sponsored Link*

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Starbucks eyes booze, food and technology to boost U.S. growth

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Mammoth white truffle to be sold at wine auction
• AfrAsia Cape Wine auction announces 2015 lots
• Luxury lots unveiled for Cape auction

HEALTH

• Is Red Wine Good For You? Two New Studies Say Yes
• Exactly Why Red Wine Helps Prevent Cancer
• Caloric Impact of Xmas drinking measured
• Prohibition Day: Prescriptions for Alcohol
• Natural substance in red wine has an anti-inflammatory effect in cardiovascular diseases
• OZ: Teen Rescue Foundation aims to reduce harmful alcohol use

INDUSTRY DATA & TRENDS

• Price war a boon for bubbles drinkers
• Bear market for Russian wine imports
• Facebook Now Has More Users Than The Population Of China
• Snapshot of the American Wine Consumer in 2014
• Why beer is the new champagne for many Londoners
• India Gradually Acquires a Taste for Wine

MARKETING & SALES

• How to Successfully Launch a Large National Wine Brand Quickly
• Holiday wine trends 2014
• Music, Wine, And The Selling Power Of Association
• Marketing’s Secret Weapon: Your Birthday
• Americans’ Alcohol Preferences Vary By Holiday
• Why we just can’t get enough of online shopping
• Guaranteed Ways to Lose Money with Mobile Marketing
• Developing an ideal holiday return policy

WINE CHOICE & RECOMMENDATION

• In pairing wine, rely on experts — but only to a point
• How Tasting Notes Can Fail As Recommendation Advice

WINE PEOPLE

• Oregon winemaker Melissa Burr grows with Stoller Family Estate
• Honey Wine Co. founder hopes to help Ethiopian farmers
• French winemaker who refused to spray vines sees conviction quashed
• Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago on Grange, death and luck
• Q&A with Paul Sobon
• Q&A: Jean-Marc Roulot, Domaine Guy Roulot

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• 5 ways to get the most out of your social media efforts

MEDIA MATTERS

• BeverageDaily’s Top 10 surreal stories of 2014
• Book Review: Brandy: A Global History
• The Best Wine Books of 2014

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Jon Stewart’s “race sommeliers” & America’s sommelier saturation
• You Can Drink White Wine After Red
• Three things that matter when getting the most out of wine

WINE TOURISM

• Italian wineries must take advantage of wine tourism

ACADEMIA

• Academic From Ancestral Home of Wine Assists EIT Researchers

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Authenticating icewine: closer, if not quite close enough
• Organic Vineyard Trial Shows Mixed Results

EUROPE & THE UK

• Bordeaux wine museum millions over budget
• UK: Wine and spirit industries to unite in combined campaign for 2% duty cut in 2015 Budget

DOWN UNDER

• Woolies makes small step into China

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• How sherry is transferred from cask to cask
• What to give, and not give, to wine lovers on your list

OLIVE OIL

• 15-Year Low for World Olive Oil Production
• Why do the Italians live longer than the Brits?
• Blame Italian Olive Bugs for Year’s Dearth of Virgin Oil
• A Bit of Mediterranean Lifestyle Could Help You Live Longer
• Islamabad, Pakistan Plants 5,000 Olive Trees in Bid to Beautify City
• Traditional and Unusual Uses for Olive Oil

CRAFT BEER, CIDER & SPIRITS

• Craft Beer Continues Fast Growth
• US brewery taps 300-year-old beer recipe