NEWS FETCH – April 28, 2015

TOP NEWS

• Global wine consumption fell in 2014, but shows signs of stabilization
• China did NOT overtake France as a wine-growing region
• Joseph Phelps Vineyards & Moët Hennessy USA Square Off In A Pair Of Delightful Legal Battles
• CA drought water restriction mandates set for revision
• CEO of Taylor’s Port abandons Everest record attempt after Nepal earthquake
• TTB Compliance can be simpler. Here’s how. *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Breather needed on proposed winery restrictions in Napa
• Port Slowdown Impacts California Agriculture
• CA Craft breweries might get OK to expand for events
• USA Trade Tasting Early Bird Registrations Are Now Open: Save $740 If You Register Before 30 April 2015. *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• CA Water Board Approves Petition to Allow Water Transfers South of the Delta
• Import water from wetter climes? It’s a pipe dream
• Central Valley Sinking Faster Than Ever Before As Farmers Drill For Water During Drought
• CA’s drought isn’t doomsday, but yes, it will change the state

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Fitch Affirms Constellation at ‘BB+’; Outlook Stable
• Will Owens-Illinois (OI) Miss Q1 Earnings on Currency Woes?
• Tools of the Trade: 10 Must Have Documents to Have Ready For Your Distributor *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Sotheby’s First Quarter 2015 Earnings Conference Call Invitation
• Auction Napa Valley comes to you online
• Parker Wine and Dine Date Goes for $100K
• Mouton Rothschild 2014: the first First to release
• Armailhac and Clerc Milon join today’s releases
• En primeur: “encouraging signs” from first chateaux to release prices

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

• Michigan police, doctors urge quick ban on powdered alcohol

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Beer that isn’t Beer, Wine that isn’t Wine and Drinks that aren’t Beverages
• Is IRS Targeting Drunkards?

INDUSTRY DATA & TRENDS

• Pinot Noir Increases in Popularity
• Survey Statistics Show How Consumers Use Mobile In The Wine Aisle
• China Replaces France As #2 Global Wine Grower
• OIV Turns Global Wine Export Numbers Into Art

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Taste may be affected by the blood cells surrounding the taste buds
• Wine is the most confusing product to buy
• An appreciation of rosé and a call for changing the rules of wine criticism

MARKETING & SALES

• The Scoop on Wine Prices
• Wine should be sold as ‘an emotional experience’
• Developing a Personal Brand on a Global Stage
• How Large Distributors Launch A New Brand *Sponsored Link*

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Setting goals on social media is absolutely imperative
• The power of social proof
• Careful what you write: How text mining could hurt your business

MEDIA MATTERS

• Number 1 Rule of a PR Pro is to be a Writer’s Writer
• Pop Culture & Wine PR
• Fabulous Rise & Dreadful Fall of Taylor Wine Company: Book Review
• The Wild Wine Harvest of ’95: The Mad Crush Book Review

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Wine Science Explained by an Expert
• Is 15% abv the new 14%?
• Dry-wine snobs missing out
• What defines ‘old vines,’ anyway, and why are they worth preserving?
• Drinking Alone: A Bad Idea or a Toast to Oneself?

WINE PEOPLE

• Interview, Part 1: Jean-Jacques Dubau, Managing Director For North America, Gruppo Campari
• With a blend of art and science, Scotland-born Heather Pyle-Lucas helps shape Lodi wines
• Michael Mondavi on Challenges vs. Opportunities
• Ernst Loosen Is Like a German Mick Jagger
• Q&A: Champagne Ruinart’s Master Blender
• The Proust Q&A: Neil McGuigan
• Wine Talk With Cakes & Ale Assistant Sommelier Melissa Davis
• What It Means to Be JetBlue’s Wine Expert

WINE PLACES

• Portraits of Bardolino 2: Matilde Poggi, Le Fraghe
• Slovenian Rhapsody
• Behind the Wine Label: Wente Vineyards

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Cayuga Lake (NY): The evolution of America’s most vintage wine trail

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Sustainable Growing in Champagne: Finally More than Lip Service?

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• How higher alcohols and volatile phenols impact on key aromas
• Thoughts on Reductive Winemaking in Chardonnay
• Timing of Crop Removal Has Limited Effect on Merlot Grape and Wine Composition

EUROPE & THE UK

• Last survivor of Mouton Rothschild first growth jury dies
• Imagining a Better Future for the Soils of Champagne
• French wine cooperative to offer employees shares
• Archeological dig could prove Georgia was birthplace of vine culture

DOWN UNDER

• Australian wine industry – state of play Part II
• OZ: Wine marketing needs more investment
• Producing wine in traditional OZ wool country

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China now has more vineyard land than France
• Tommy Lam on the State of Sommeliers in China
• The vines in the Chinese vineyards have been dug out of the ground

LATIN AMERICA

• The New Chile Wine: Producers Behind a Revolution in Taste

SOUTH AFRICA

• Here’s why a trip to South Africa was the best vacation

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Wine Comes From Crabapples, Pineapples and Other Adventures
• Corky Taint, Terrorist Sommelier

OLIVE OIL

• US olive oil wholesaler has switched the sourcing of the EVOO from Italy to Greece

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER WINE & SPIRITS

• American whiskey category sees 19% value growth in the UK