NEWS FETCH – February 23, 2015

TOP NEWS

• West Coast port workers, shippers reach tentative agreement
• Millennials Drive Demand For Premium Wine
• Rioja’s Big Names Bullish About U.S. Wine Market
• Consumers More Budget-Minded Even As Confidence Is Up
• TTB Compliance can be simpler. Here’s how. *Sponsored Link*

HARVEST 2014/GLOBAL WINE SUPPLY

• Earliest harvest in decades for South Africa
• Bitter Cold Hits Eastern Vineyards
• OZ: grape harvest season kicks off on Mornington Peninsula
• OZ: Harvest hopes for vintage crop
• Overcoming the Top 10 Objections from Beverage Retailers *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• County gives tentative OK to Melka Winery
• New winery backlash rising
• TTB Establishes Fountaingrove District AVA In Sonoma County (PDF)
• Pruning competition continues to grow

DROUGHT/WATER

• The future of water storage in California
• Testimony lists public benefits of water storage

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• Direct Wine Shipping to South Dakota Gets the Green Light

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Constellation Brands Hits New 52-Week High at $115.01
• Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd director banned for 15 years
• Robert Sands, President of Constellation Brands
• Coravin, Inc. Appoints Frédéric Levy as Chief Executive Officer

FINANCE, M&A

• Strong dollar in the 1980s turned Bordeaux first-growths into steals for U.S. wine drinkers
• How Large Distributors Launch A New Brand *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Premiere Napa Valley Barrel Auction Slips Through to New Record of $6 Million
• Liv-ex continues to see high levels of activity
• En primeur prices will not be like 2008
• Rousseau Wines With Leroy, DRC Lead Burgundies at Hart
• Latour ’45 Sells for $32,570 at Bonhams London Wine Sale

ALCOHOL, HEALTH, AND THE FRENCH PARADOX

• Report on dietary guidelines contains some surprise about moderate drinking
• A mistaken interpretation of data relating alcohol to mortality
• When even one drink could kill you
• PA Liquor Control Board Report to Prevent Underage and Dangerous Drinking

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• NY Wine industry keeping eye on Empire Wine dispute
• Walmart Gains An Ally In Kroger In Texas Spirits Push, But Publix Objects To Florida Bill
• Rebecca Stamey-White presents Emerging Issues in Wine Law
• Labor union port shutdown action harms economy, national security

MARKETING & SALES

• How Supermarkets are Becoming Local Wine Shops
• Wine fortunes take off for labels featured on inflight menus
• How video will be the norm in wine marketing within three years
• Use the online search tool to make sure you are well prepared for your ProWein 2015 visit – over 5,000 exhibitors await you! *Sponsored Link*

WINE CHOICE

• Can a sommelier be trusted? If you need to ask, then you have no business dining out
• Simplicity and complexity: words so different, yet so alike

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Cork makes a comeback in Wine Country

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Yelp Sues SMB Reputation Firm for Shady Review Solicitation, Management
• The Social Media Marketing Cycle In 10 Steps
• Google Helpouts to be Shuttered After Slow Growth

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• How to grow a thriving family business

MEDIA MATTERS

• Wine reviews still matter
• 8 Books For Wine Communicators (That Are Not About Wine)
• Should we take pictures of food and wine in restaurants?

MATTERS OF TASTE

• The True Genesis of Super Tuscan Wine
• The Greatest Wine In The World
• Aging Cabernet Sauvignon
• Some Useless Notes
• 7 Primary Styles of Spanish Red Wine

WINE PEOPLE

• Blind UC Davis student senses his place in the wine world
• Lady Dynamo Leads Charge To Foster Female Leaders
• One woman’s path from crunching numbers to making wine
• Beyond Women Winemakers

WINE PLACES

• A Snapshot of Sicily
• Diodoros: Wine Among the Ruins
• Hawke’s Bay and its dazzling wine variety
• Central Otago wine region, New Zealand

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Students at SSU and Texas Tech Compete in Wine Mixology
• Santa Barbara County winemaker Ernst Storm is taking the wine world by … storm
• WA: Department of Ecology, wine industry work on proposed wastewater permit
• Virginia Is The Most Exciting Place For American Wine Right Now

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Trials show the impact of oxygen

EUROPE & THE UK

• Ribera del Duero council plans DO status for white wines
• Bulgaria strengthens cooperation with OIV

DOWN UNDER

• New Zealand Winery Not Sheepish About Leaf-Letting
• Aussie winery undeterred by China’s slowing wine imports
• Seeking the Rest of Australian Wine

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Reading Restaurant Wine Lists, for Blockbusters and Values
• My grandfather made my life possible today
• The HoseMaster Regrets the Errors
• Strap-on booze baby seeks funding

ARTISAN BEER, CIDER & SPIRITS

• The most expensive ingredient in beer is the taxes
• The Difference Between A Pale Ale And An IPA
• Challenging Year For Top 100 Spirits Brands, But Bourbon Rides High