NEWS FETCH – January 8, 2015

TOP NEWS

• Double-Digit Beer Growth Boosts Constellation, While Wine Decline Offsets Spirits’ Rise
• California exports on track for record year
• Australian wildfires threaten to produce ashtray wine vintage
• B.C.’s Higher Markups Worry U.S. Exporters
• Davies winery opponents sue St. Helena
• The top 8 reasons it makes dollars and sense to move your winery software to the Cloud *Sponsored Link*

#JESUISCHARLIE

• We are all Charlie Hebdo and this is an attack on our rights
• Charlie Hebdo murders are no excuse for killing online freedom
• Freedom Is Never Free
• Nous Sommes Tous Charlie
• “Je Suis Charlie”
• ‘If we could all laugh together a bit more…’

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• What you need to know about California’s new Paid Sick Leave
• New California ABC Advisory on Merchandising Services by Suppliers
• Angwin root-irrigation startup gets global nod
• Sip California Magazine Launches March 2015
• Foie gras ban is overturned
• How To Pitch Your Brand In National Restaurant Chains *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Capitol Hill Californians will push for drought legislation again
• State residents increase conservation but still fall far short of governor’s goal
• Innovation may save drought-stricken California
• Improvement in urban water conservation rates for November

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Liberty Wines up a record 15.8% in December
• Tesco kicks off turnaround plan with asset sales and store closures
• New Direct Wines chief advocates getting more personal with consumer
• Sale Of Blinkbox Is A Humiliation For Tesco
• Marks and Spencer reports flat food performance in Q3
• ‘We like Constellation Brands’ outsized exposure to imported beer’

FINANCE, M&A

• Are higher fine wine prices motivating thieves?
• Grow Direct To Consumer Sales *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Bordeaux and Rest of the World stay afloat in December
• New Year Wine Auctions off to a Stellar Start
• Acker Merrall & Condit: King of the auction house?
• iDealwine sees Champagne success
• Chilean fine wine moving in the right direction
• Are You Really Ready To Pitch A Distributor: Here’s the Checklist *Sponsored Link*

HEALTH

• Beer, bread yeast-eating bacteria aid human health
• Drynuary: Turning A Serious Issue Into A Temporary First World Problem
• This Is The Best Reason Why Red Wine Is Good For You
• Drinking Declines with Age
• UK: Alcohol sales linked with alcohol deaths
• Eating a Healthy Diet Reduces Risk of Systemic Inflammation in Older Adults
• Champagne gives the worst hangovers

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Prospects for immigration reform uncertain
• Feds bust Dallas lawyer for vodka fraud
• Sparkler Critic Wrangles For Use Of Sacred Name

MARKETING & SALES

• Spanish Wine Site Gives 14 Keys To US Sales
• Britain is beating France at its own game with soaring exports of bubbly
• What’s Changing in Social Media Marketing in 2015
• Key PR metrics for 2015
• Save time and money – order ProWein 2015 tickets online at reduced rates! *Sponsored Link*

WINE CHOICE & RECOMMENDATION

• Crowd-based reviews? A consideration
• The Difference Between White Zinfandel And Rosé

FOOD PAIRINGS: SOYLENT RED OR WHITE?

• Soylent reportedly raising $10M for its icky-tasting meal-replacement product

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Italian agriculture ministry issues new labeling guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• The Best Wine Apps
• LinkedIn Expands Blogging Tool
• Pageviews stink — but engagement is still a hard sell as an alternative

MEDIA MATTERS

• The VinePair Wine Web Power Index: WII makes the cut
• Books: An All-Encompassing Look At Grape Pests
• Hogshead – a wine blog well worth reading

MATTERS OF TASTE

• As wine matures with age, it may gain a few blemishes
• Terroir of contrasts: Uco Valley and Pedernal vs. East of Mendoza and Tulum Valley

WINE PEOPLE

• 2015 30 Under 30: Food & Wine
• Q&A with James Miles
• Carol Duval-Leroy: One of the Leading Female Voices in Champagne
• Peter Becraft: Dream Winemaking Job Starts with a Challenging Vintage
• Uncorked: Gary Boom

WINE PLACES

• Furmint Adventures, Part One: Balassa Winery
• Bergerac’s “treasure trove” of wines
• Richness Brings Rewards for Rombauer’s Wines

OH CANADA!

• Okanagan Named a Must Explore Wine Hotspot in the World
• Winter season has its fans among Okanagan grape growers

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Bill would allow wine sales at Kentucky grocery stores
• Washington Wine Institute hires director
• VA: Winemakers Report On Nature’s Vagrants, Mechanical Harvests, Interesting Vintage
• NY: Bud Injury and 2014 Grape Crop
• WI: Winemaker says cold weather took Ice Wine off shelves
• NY: When temperatures drop, ice wine producers gear up
• No winter harvest, but ice wines abound in Finger Lakes
• MN: Restaurant wine lists have never been better
• Growing a Wine Industry in Nevada

ACADEMIA

• NYSAES Director Susan Brown offers vision for Cornell’s Geneva campus

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Compounds that Influence Foamability and Foam Stability in Sparkling Wines
• Molecular genetics ready to launch a golden age of winegrape breeding
• The Science of Wine Aromas
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Give Viticulturist An Eye In The Sky

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: Retailer warning after illicit alcohol centre discovered
• Italian winemakers says sale of sparkling wine on tap is illegal under EU rules
• Ancient wine traditions define, welcome visitors to former Soviet Republic of Georgia
• Alcohol hotspots of Great Britain revealed

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Hunter vignerons under scrutiny by Fair Work during fruit-picking
• Grape expectations for early harvest in Orange region

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China’s taste for Bordeaux takes a tumble

SOUTH AFRICA

• There is much to be impressed by South African sparkling wines

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• The Grinch who stole wine from The French Laundry
• World’s First “No-Compressor Wine Cabinet”
• Korean Poo Wine
• Want to go to a wine rave? Wine cocktails. Glow sticks.

MARYJANE

• New Funding For Privateer Highlights Marijuana’s Massive Market In The U.S.

This NewsFetch was hand-crafted for you by WII Assistant Editor Becca Yeamans-Irwin. Visit her website at The Academic Wino. Cheers!