NEWS FETCH – May 1, 2015

TOP NEWS

• Growers Urged to Return All Ballots for PD/GWSS Referendum – Will Fail If Threshold Not Met (PDF)
• IL Attorney General To Dismiss Lawsuit Troll Retailer Cases, But Winery Lawsuits Still To Be Examined
• Chinese wine associations establish first trade body
• Joseph Henriot, Powerhouse Wine Executive in Burgundy and Champagne, Dies at 79
• What’s really draining California water
• TTB Compliance can be simpler. Here’s how. *Sponsored Link*

GLOBAL WINE SUPPLY

• NZ: Hat-trick of quality vintages

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Growers Warned Against Accepting Contracts With Producer’s Lien Waivers
• Vineyard Technology to Boost Profits, Minimize Problems: Vineyard Economics Seminar
• Tesla enters battery market with technology tested at Jackson Family Wines
• Will Success Spoil The Napa Valley?
• The buzz on the Napa Agricultural Protection Advisory Committee
• Robin Akhurst joins Swanson team
• Hahn is new hire for Napa Valley Vintners
• Keith Hock launches new consulting venture
• USA Trade Tasting Early Bird Registrations Are Now Open: Save $740 If You Register Before 30 April 2015. *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• California Agricultural Water Use: Key Background Information (PDF)
• California Water Rights Law: 100 Years and Counting – and Concerned
• Grant Funds Research on Use of Treated Wastewater on Crops
• Delta group says governor’s newest Delta plan is worse
• Filtering wine one way doesn’t mean it’s the only way. Click now to see the alternatives *Sponsored Link*

FINANCE, M&A

• SK Capital Closes Control Investment in AEB Group

DISTRIBUTORS

• Rocco Lombardo Appointed President Of Wilson Daniels
• Tools of the Trade: 10 Must Have Documents to Have Ready For Your Distributor *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Bordeaux 2014: Many top chateaux hold fire as first releases test demand
• Mouton ’14 in Line With 2012 Sets Tone for Bordeaux Price
• Haut-Brion tops Parker’s 2012 scores
• Bordeaux 2012: a Pessac year

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

• New research reveals the jobs in the UK that make Brits drink the most

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Talking wine label compliance with Rob Mondavi

INDUSTRY DATA & TRENDS

• World Wine Consumption Mostly Flat Since 2009
• How Large Distributors Launch A New Brand *Sponsored Link*

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Why Washington State University winemakers ditched cork for caps

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Why Your Engagement Stinks and What You Can Do About It

MEDIA MATTERS

• Terminate the Robo-Writers
• Review: ‘Natural Resistance,’ a Documentary on the Italian Wine Industry

MATTERS OF TASTE

• ‘Anything but Chardonnay’ mantra is nonsense
• The sad truth about Italian wine
• Italy’s Best-Kept Secret: the Sparkling Wines of Franciacorta
• Volatilizing Your Esters Brings Joy to Your Wine Experience
• Viticulture 101: Part 5
• A League of Their Rhône Rangers–Part Three
• Sweet: a good thing

WINE PEOPLE

• Jackson Family Wines chairman and proprietor Barbara R. Banke
• Portraits of Bardolino 3: Carlo Nerozzi, Le Vigne di San Pietro
• Three wise men: Italy’s winemakers
• Interview with Ernst Loosen
• Roberson’s Cru

WINE PLACES

• 10 Things Every Wine Lover Should Know About Dominio de Pingus
• Guado al Tasso: a story of self-confidence
• Wines From Sicily Reveal A Rich Mosaic Ripe For Discovery

OH CANADA!

• Quebec: Empty wine glass bottles should not be returnable

REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Fears of drop in Arizona wine grapes after freeze
• Texas wine at the crossroads, one year later
• Selling New York on Washington State Wines
• Finger Lakes Wines and Grapes: It’s spring, but winter’s effects are still felt

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Some grape growers on the Central Coast use less water than others–the trick is to dry farm

EUROPE & THE UK

• Why do British retailers get it so wrong overseas?
• UK: 24-hour drinking law ‘was a mistake’

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Wine Equalization Tax Reform still on the table
• OZ: Commercial vineyards at Charles Sturt University to return to farmland
• Australian wine industry – state of play: Part 5
• Harvest Trail Fair Work initiative turns to Tasmania’s wine industry

SOUTH AFRICA

• UPM Raflatac partners with WWF South Africa to support sustainable wine production and conservation in the Cape winelands

OLIVE OIL

• Olive Oil Authenticity Testing Underway in UK
• Waste Olive Oil from restaurants will feed four new U.K. power plants

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER WINE & SPIRITS

• MillerCoors Hit with Class Action Suit for Use of “Artfully Crafted” on Blue Moon Beer
• Edrington Sees Further Upside For Luxury Malts Macallan And Highland Park
• Samuel Adams Slumps In First Quarter, But Angry Orchard Leads Boston Beer To Solid Growth