NEWS FETCH – March 24, 2015

TOP NEWS

• Constellation Brands announces $1bn investment in Mexico production plant
• Tesco investors prepare multi-billion pound lawsuit over profit black hole
• Why you shouldn’t believe that exciting new medical study
• If we didn’t have California, what would we eat?
• Water giveaways during a drought invite conflict
• TTB Compliance can be simpler. Here’s how. *Sponsored Link*

UNCONFIRMED BUZZ

• Gallo buying J Sparkling?

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• California Wine Market Update
• Napa Merlot Update

DROUGHT/WATER

• Potential for ag conservation is far less than Pacific Institute/NRDC report claims
• Thirsty crops should require state regulation
• Pat Mulroy to California: Fix the Bay Delta

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• What is Your Wine Delivery Rate?

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Annette Alvarez-Peters On Costco’s Beverage Strategy
• Beverage Trade Network Launches USA Trade Tasting To Help Producers Connect With Distributors *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Parker: High wine prices creating ‘caste system’
• Uncorking The Motives and Methods of Wine Fraud
• Bordeaux 2014: Gavin Quinney’s weather report
• Measured Enthusiasm at Château Margaux
• Tawaiinese importer busted for selling counterfeit red wines
• Acker sale makes HK$45m

ALCOHOL, HEALTH, AND THE FRENCH PARADOX
Click the link above for more news, articles and archives.

• Wine tasters’ teeth at risk of rapid erosion
• Scientists harness yeast to cut wine alcohol level
• Can Heavy Drinkers Learn To Cut Back?
• Low-alcohol wine on its way

CONTINUING ARSENIC IN WINE COVERAGE

• Killing the Wine & Arsenic Story — Before It’s Too Late
• Most Arsenic-Tainted Wines Certified Sustainable
• No Arsenic In Wine?
• Cheap Wine May Have High Levels Of Arsenic–But Is That Dangerous?

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Considerations in Structuring Alternating Proprietorship Agreements

INDUSTRY DATA & TRENDS

• Exchange Rate Lessons from Australia’s Wine Boom and Bust
• Demand for sparkling wine renews interest in cool climate grapes
• Wine is growing in the Netherlands again, led by the sparkling category
• Why white wine flopped in China
• How the “Instant” trend is changing how we eat and drink
• Imported Wine Has 30%+ Of US Market
• How To Build a Cult-Like Following For Your Brand: *Sponsored Link*

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Taste perception higher with lower alcohol wines

MARKETING & SALES

• When it comes to country brands, we are often our own worst critics
• What It Takes To Get Your Brand Approved By Commercial Airlines: *Sponsored Link*

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Lodi conference set to help winegrape farmers
• UC Davis event explores Chinese alcoholic beverages
• Why this might be Alfonso Cevola’s last Vinitaly in Verona

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Success in social media comes when brands look from customer’s perspective
• New trends in website design
• Facebook Like Button Tops Social Net Actions

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• It’s Time for Gender Equity in the Cellar

MEDIA MATTERS

• Do Clickbait Headlines Undermine the Credibility of Content and Experts?
• California’s Dear Jon Letter
• 30 Lessons Of Wine Communication: Your Suggestions Please
• Seattle blogger tries to shut down wine snobs
• Decanter donates 75,000 pounds to WaterAid charity

MATTERS OF TASTE

• How Might the New World Really Matter?
• The Oregon Chardonnay Clone Wars
• How wine can be as cool as beer and cocktails
• What’s the Big Deal About Kosher Wine?
• Looking at CA sauvignon blancs
• The varied expressions of Nebbiolo

WINE PEOPLE

• The Franciacorta President Who Wanted to Be Pope
• French Winemaker Talks About Wine Career
• Drinking With: Matt Strauss

WINE PLACES

• Honoring the Wente Tradition

OH CANADA!

• Okanagan Valley Winemakers Unfazed by Nature’s Attempt to Turn Up the Heat
• Provincial regulation changes will mean a leap in alcohol prices

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Maryland winery family honored at EWE
• North Carolina’s wine, grape industry charts its course
• Group with ties to IS hack WA winery website

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• New technology uses giant blender to chop up wine grape skins to improves reds

EUROPE & THE UK

• Vintage year ‘in every two’ in Champagne
• German Winery Scores Three 100-Pointers, Sells Out Instantly

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Plea from Hunter vignerons for extended buffer zones to protect against mining activity
• Kiwi Wineries Offer Chinese Visitors Tips on Wine Tourism
• OZ government will move to ban Palcohol

AROUND THE GLOBE

• Is wine consumption in Israel dying on the vine?

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• 11 new wines to try if you’re bored of the same old varietals

OLIVE OIL

• Olive tree disease in Italy alarms EU

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER WINE & SPIRITS

• Global Rum Market Tipped for Value Growth
• Opportunities in the US Brandy Market