NEWS FETCH – January 15, 2015

TOP NEWS

• Hindsight Sues Benessere, Charges Multiple Expensive Custom Crush Mistakes
• U.S. Wine Auction Market Enjoys Banner Year
• Unfair pricing practices undermine small Prosecco growers
• Port slowdowns are affecting farm shipments
• Tokyo proposes scrapping customs duty on wine in 5 years
• The top 8 reasons it makes dollars and sense to move your winery software to the Cloud *Sponsored Link*

HARVEST 2014/GLOBAL WINE SUPPLY

• Heavy rainfall a ‘god send’ for South Australian grape growers
• NZ: Grape yields down so no glut tipped

IN MEMORIAM

• Winemaker Daniel Gainey Dies
• Contino ‘founding father’ Jose Madrazo dies

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Sonoma State Announces Half-Million Dollar Gift
• Stark to lead Sonoma County Vintners
• Franscioni new president of Santa Lucia Highlands Wine Artisans
• Sonoma County Winegrowers develop 100-year plan to protect agriculture
• Bob Cabral’s Plans for Three Sticks Winery
• Kenwood resort property changes hands
• The Winehound’s Rhône Party
• How To Pitch Your Brand In National Restaurant Chains *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Westlands leader says drainage negotiations were no secret
• Proposed water quality rules may limit ag activities
• California Drought Likely Lingers Through Summer
• Drought Isn’t Farmers’ Only Worry: It Hasn’t Been Cold Enough, Either
• Congressmembers reintroduce “W21: Water in the 21st Century” Legislation
• Capps backs bill to provide drought-related aid

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• A-B Launches Beer Home Delivery App

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Constellation Brands appoints chief growth officer
• BBH London cuts ties with Waitrose following Tesco creative account win
• Tesco turns to advertising and management gurus to help rebuild brand’s reputation
• Encirc: No job losses and contracts with Diageo and Britvic continue as normal

FINANCE, M&A

• Spain’s Vidrala completes Encirc purchase
• Beverage can maker Rexam jointly buys Panamanian business Endelis
• Triangle Capital Corporation Invests $22.0 Million in Nomacorc, LLC
• New Zealand wineries increase profitability again in 2014
• Soylent has raised $20 million in Series A funding

DISTRIBUTORS

• Angove to distribute Coonawarra’s Hollick
• Are You Really Ready To Pitch A Distributor: Here’s the Checklist *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Liv-ex: Correlations between the performance of oil, gold and wine over the past 15 years
• Burgundy Prices Stabilize with 2013 Vintage
• In the Falling Euro’s Shadows, Bargain-Hunting for Luxury
• Crowdfunding: the next up-and-coming business tool

HEALTH

• Think You Know How Resveratrol Works? Think Again
• Healthy Maternal Diet During Pregnancy is Associated with Healthy Infant Birth Weight
• 1,800 college students die from ‘alcohol-related causes’?: Not so much…
• Younger women’s heart disease risk lowest when “average” amounts of alcohol are consumed
• France’s anti-alcohol lobby forces Rhone wine body to change advert slogan

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Immigration moves delay solution
• Modest costs for EPA worker protection rule
• TN: Push underway to speed up wine in food stores

INDUSTRY DATA & TRENDS

• Top Somms Predict The Hot Wine Trends Of 2015
• 2 out of 3 consumers base wine purchases on label, and other wine trends
• Employment growth fuels restaurant industry

MARKETING & SALES

• Is the customer really always right?
• Are Super Bowl Ads Worth the Price? Newcastle Says No
• Social media marketing: creativity is not enough
• Save time and money – order ProWein 2015 tickets online at reduced rates! *Sponsored Link*

WINE CHOICE & RECOMMENDATION

• You’ve never heard of this Italian grape, but you’ve tasted it in Prosecco
• Review Inflation: What Happens When Everyone Has 5 Stars?

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Charlie Hebdo’s Labels

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• California Wine Export Program Annual Seminar Jan. 27, 2015
• Central Coast Insights Wine Event: Talent-Terroir-Tradition

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• ‘Je Suis Charlie’ Sympathizers Mapped In Solidarity
• Which Network Should You Buy Into This Year?
• Myspace Cool Again (and yes, your account is still active)

PAYMENTS

• Bitcoin revealed: a Ponzi scheme for redistributing wealth
• Bitcoin crash could take toll on data center providers
• Bitcoin’s Price Falls Further Amid Record Transaction Volume

MEDIA MATTERS

• Wine Economist Short-Listed for Gourmand Blog Award
• The real stance you have to take now that you stood with Charlie Hebdo
• Writers confess their indecent travel obsessions
• Cookbook Celebrates A Vermont Vineyard

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Super Bordeaux? Bordelais experiment with Syrah
• The colour of the mug influences the taste of the coffee

IN THE DOUCHEBAGGERY DEPARTMENT

• One Restaurant Is Letting Beautiful People Eat Free

WINE PEOPLE

• Patrice Moreux – Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre producer

WINE PLACES

• Aussie Wine Region On The Rise
• Gold in the hills of Stellenbosch
• Tokaj-Hétszőlő Vineyards
• 10 Things Every Wine Lover Should Know About DRC
• Best wine destinations: France, Italy…Orlando?

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Idaho wine worth $170 million to state

ACADEMIA

• Now access 40,000 published USDA studies online

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Researchers Nearing Completion of Genetic Map of Grapevine Disease
• CA to further restrict use of pesticide chloropicrin
• FAA to Winemakers: Drone On, Ye Makers of Wine
• Crops can do their own weed control
• Chitosan, a sustainable alternative for food packaging

EUROPE & THE UK

• Drinks firms need to collaborate more with suppliers to keep costs down
• UK wine consumers aren’t reaping the benefits of inflation
• UK: This will be the toughest ever year for supermarkets
• UK: Wine drinkers pay over the odds as inflation rockets 3.4% in December
• UK: Pub and restaurant groups grow Christmas trading 2.8%

DOWN UNDER

• NZ: Overseas demand for land on the rise
• OZ: Vietnamese horticulture market is not lost despite trade suspension
• OZ: Spokenwine: New start-up trying to approach wine retailing differently

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China: More vine, less wine investments
• Chinese Winemakers Talk Consumer Philosophy
• Roadblocks to Chinese-Aussie wineries
• Scottish brewery to export rice wine to Japan
• Japan-Australia free trade deal in effect today

DON’T WORRY, THE CAT IS OK!

• New home for Tesco cat after fears he had been ‘ejected’

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Beer vs. Wine: The Great Debate
• How to Recreate a Sloppy Ancient Greek Drinking Game
• “I will not worry the sheep”: A Vineyard Dog’s New Year’s Resolutions
• Wine Country Artist Erin Hanson is an Impressionist

OLIVE OIL

• Xylella fastidiosa: risk to EU plants assessed
• How much should cost extra virgin olive oil?
• California Olive Ranch acquires Lucini Italia Olive Oil
• Olive oil used in Israel 8,000 years ago
• Comparative field studies of Bactrocera oleae baits in olive orchards

CRAFT BEER, CIDER & SPIRITS

• Cider producers can learn lots from craft beer movement
• Thatcher’s revamps Old Rascal cider