NEWS FETCH – January 5, 2015

TOP NEWS

• Drought will cost Calif’s farmers $1.5b
• One third of wines in clear glass bottles are light damaged
• Australian wine ‘cheaper than water’
• Massachusetts Accidentally Deletes State Law Allowing Farm Wineries to Self Distribute
• Beaujolais Break-up on the Cards
• The top 8 reasons it makes dollars and sense to move your winery software to the Cloud *Sponsored Link*

IN MEMORIAM

• Volker Eisele, Napa winemaker who led fight for farmland protection, dies at 77
• Serge Hochar, Producer of Lebanese Wines, Dies at 75

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Phil Burton’s long ride at Barrel Builders
• Mystery remains on French Laundry wine theft
• New year will feature new debate on Napa winery development
• Feds Approve Chumash Camp 4 Plans
• Grape growers could alleviate Occidental’s wastewater issues
• Carolyn Stark named executive director of Sonoma County Vintners
• Scholarships open to California grape workers
• California’s new laws for 2015: How are you affected?
• How To Pitch Your Brand In National Restaurant Chains *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• California’s Dust Bowl
• Californians need a new mindset about water
• 2014 ends drier than the year before
• States React to New Era of Water Scarcity
• January could be key to ending drought

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• Illinois Qui Tam Lawsuits: Direct Shipping Implications
• Something Sneaky Happened On the Way to Direct Wine Shipping in Massachusetts
• Grow Direct To Consumer Sales *Sponsored Link*

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer to report Christmas sales slump
• Simon McMurtrie steps down from Direct Wines
• Simpson takes top spot at Pol Roger Ltd

FINANCE, M&A

• Burgundy Winemakers Buy More of Jura
• Vineyards a new appeal to rich Chinese
• Asian buyers push up vineyard prices
• Are You Really Ready To Pitch A Distributor: Here’s the Checklist *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Drink, don’t hold, fine wine
• Fine wine prices in 2014: were merchants right?
• Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 falls 0.03% in December
• Grange tops Liv-ex 100 in December
• Higher returns low risks – crucial advantages of investing in fine wine
• A leading indicator for fine wine
• Acker to auction Saunier collection

HEALTH

• People Who Don’t Drink Alcohol Are More Likely To Die Young

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Trademark: Can a Last Name be Confusingly Similar for a Wine?
• Is CENTURY Confusingly Similar with SECOLO for Wine?
• How Dreams and Money Didn’t Mix at a Texas Distillery
• Tito responds to accusations that vodka not handmade or small batch

INDUSTRY DATA & TRENDS

• China austerity drive to impact until 2017

MARKETING & SALES

• Prosecco fizzes through festive season
• Echo Boomers Drink More Than Any Generation In History
• An Inside Look At Chandon’s Strategy For Conquering The Millennial Bubbles Market
• A toast to a good year for sparkling wine
• How to Make Bordeaux Sexy
• Restaurants should target specific consumer needs
• Save time and money – order ProWein 2015 tickets online at reduced rates! *Sponsored Link*

WINE CHOICE & RECOMMENDATION

• No such thing as the “best” wine
• What drives our wine choice – taste, or the price tag?
• The Cork Vs. The Screw Cap
• The Differences Between Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon
• Prosecco: A Fine Sparkling Bargain and Nine Facts
• Drink Your Dessert
• Getting into Grower Champagne

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Marriott Says It Only Wants to Block Personal Wi-Fi in Conference, Meeting Spaces

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• “Social media” is an oxymoron that’s here to stay
• American Workers Still Need Their Email
• How to effectively use Facebook Insights
• There Is Still Time to Prepare Your Mobile Marketing Strategy for 2015
• How to Get More Retweets and Shares from Your Social Media Content
• 100 Marketing Tactics: Social Media, Content Marketing and Mobile
• New Year, Old Website?

PAYMENTS

• Bitcoin Is Getting Smoked To Start The New Year

IT: INFORMATION [AND] TECHNOLOGY

• How to Create an Email PowerPoint Presentation for Importers

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Two new employment laws in effect in California

MEDIA MATTERS

• 2015 Predictions – The Wild West of Journalism
• 5 Simple Rules to Handle the Ambush Media Interview
• How much can I dissolve myself as a wine publicist?

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Why Technical Data Leads Us Down The Wrong Street
• Is a Great Wine Palate God Given, Learned or Bought?
• Bordeaux château to make pure Cab Franc

WINE PEOPLE

• Get To Know Leslie Sbrocco
• Meet Tim Hanni, Master of Wine
• A conversation with Kate Messmer
• Stephen Forward, Essentially Wine
• Hopes and Fears for 2015: Nick Oakley
• Marimar Torres: A life in wine
• 6 Sommeliers to Watch in 2015
• Interview With One Of The Largest Wine Importers In China

WINE PLACES

• A taste for scandal in Italy’s Tuscany wine region
• Sauternes: The Strange Case of The Railway Line and The Mist
• 5 Italian Wine Regions to Watch in 2015

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Virginia becomes the wine center Thos. Jefferson envisioned 200 years ago
• Washington wine grape growers breaking records
• Lodi wines compared to Texas wines, hats and cattle

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Chardonnay and Pinot Noir under threat from climate change
• White wine doesn’t exist
• Phylloxera: the parasite that changed wine forever

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: Sparkling wine is top performing grocery category at Christmas
• UK: Wine sales hit hardest by Scottish multibuy ban
• English wine sales to hit £100m in 2015
• Italy’s Wine Production Down 14% After Rainy Summer

DOWN UNDER

• Adelaide Hills farmers defend vineyards from bushfires
• Earlier grape harvest predicted in Australia
• Aussie wine industry is entering a fine wine-led recovery
• Tasmania’s premium sparkling wine sales sparkle

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China’s wine market shows rosy future despite austerity measures
• Will China Dominate The Wine Industry?
• China Can’t Get Enough of Black Market Tiger Bone Wine

LATIN AMERICA

• Argentina: Malbec wine continues to reign supreme
• Argentina ready to try new things
• Argentina: Which is the best selling strategy according to the size of the winery?
• Chile: Stronger dollar give a boost to wine producers

SOUTH AFRICA

• Swartland terroir: a quiet South African revolution

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Brewing the “First” Alcoholic Beverage
• Wine detective finds 100-year-old vintages for buyers on a tight budget
• Americans Equate Champagne With A Better, More Fulfilling Life
• Shaken Champagne? Just Give It a Few Minutes
• The Language of Wine
• Wine Phrases and What They Mean In Plain English
• What Would Jesus Drink?
• On the eve of the Epiphany, water becomes wine
• Wine Insiders Celebrate The New Year As Homebodies
• The Emperor in Winter
• Korbel winemaker lies on TV about Champagne and sparkling wine