NEWS FETCH – May 4, 2015

TOP NEWS

• Diageo contemplates sale of wine operations
• California issues second round of irrigation curtailments
• Crops irrigated with oil field water raise Central Valley concerns
• US Growth has slowed — is it transitory or not? (PDF)
• William Sokolin, Wine Seller Who Broke Famed Bottle, Dies at 85
• TTB Compliance can be simpler. Here’s how. *Sponsored Link*

GLOBAL WINE SUPPLY

• Allied Grape Growers Issue Acreage Report (PDF)
• OZ: Tasmanian winemakers celebrate high quality yields after light crop in 2014

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Sonoma County planning commissioner Willie Lamberson settles into pivotal post in winery debate
• 4 Insights From Napa’s Underdogs
• J. Lohr Unveils Pinot on the Patio Sweepstakes
• How To Overcome The Top 10 Objections From Beverage Retailers. *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• CA Water Board orders all post-1914 water rights holders within the Sacramento River watershed and Delta to stop diverting until further notice
• Water rationing and California’s drought
• California’s drought brings state into unprecedented territory
• Jerry Brown’s giant water tunnels face a tough dig
• Is state’s Delta new strategy built on a series of errors?
• The End of California?
• Is the California delta smelt responsible for the water shortage?
• Got a good grip on your bung? Click now to check out our “super grip” bung flash sale *Sponsored Link*

FINANCE, M&A

• How Much Did Wineries Really Make in 2014?
• OZ: Naked Wines Winemaker buys Margaret River vineyard

DISTRIBUTORS

• Terlato Wines Becomes U.S. Importer Of Piper-Heidsieck Champagne
• Charles Heidsieck Moving To Folio Fine Wine Partners
• Know your wine importers
• Tools of the Trade: 10 Must Have Documents to Have Ready For Your Distributor *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Frenetic bidding at Sonoma County Barrel Auction
• Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 rises 0.4% in April
• Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 held steady last week and closed the month up 0.7%
• Lynch Bages, Angelus, La Lagune find a market as weak euro helps buyers
• Bordeaux 2014 – Ron Washam’s methodology
• What You Need to Know about 2014 en primeur

INDUSTRY DATA & TRENDS

• San Joaquin Valley 2015 Crop Looking A Lot Like 2014

MARKETING & SALES

• Why Using Flash Can Kill Your Advertising And Web Site Traffic
• How Large Distributors Launch A New Brand *Sponsored Link*

MEDIA MATTERS

• The revolution in wine terms
• Time to kill the 800-word article

MATTERS OF TASTE

• From Vineyard Selfies to Wines that Encompass a Place
• World is waking up to German Pinot
• What does wine sound like?
• Filtering wine one way doesn’t mean it’s the only way. Click now to see the alternatives *Sponsored Link*

LOOKING AT THE SCIENCE OF TERROIR (SAME STUDY)

• Comparing Malbec Wines from Argentina & California: Can We Identify “Terroir”? (Academic Wino, 2013)
• Scientists Find Wines from Different Terroirs Have Distinct ‘Fingerprints’ (Wine Spectator, 2015)

WINE PEOPLE

• Women Vintners Chip Away at the Wineglass Ceiling
• In Mom’s Footsteps
• Drinking with Tool Frontman and Winemaker Maynard James Keenan
• WA: Vintner realizes fruits of grandpa’s lessons

WINE PLACES

• Italian Wine Appellations that are Downright Confounding
• Uncorking Bordeaux
• A little homage to Catalonia
• Beaumes-de-Venise, More Than Just Muscat
• On the verdejo wine trail in central Spain
• La Rioja is rich in historic sites, vineyards

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• OR Vineyards may face increased pest pressure
• WA: Illness forces Trio Vintners owner to move on
• Oh! Ohio has wine?
• Ohio grape industry losing a great research manager
• Ontario Needs to Allow Competition for its Alcohol Industry to Prosper

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Research On Hybrid Tannins Continues

EUROPE & THE UK

• When is a Pago not a Pago?
• Chief of the Week: English Wine

DOWN UNDER

• Australian wine seeing record growth in China and UK
• NZ: Yealands Plans Growth as Marlborough Land Prices Recover
• Prime Minister Seeks Ponytailgate Pardon With Pinot Noir
• NZ wine boss kick-back trial begins
• Aussie wine and beer in good spirits
• Can Australia, China match France in wine?

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China’s Wine Industry Explodes, But Not Yet On The World Stage

LATIN AMERICA

• Cheval des Andes May Get Own Winery as Lurton Builds LVMH Brand

AROUND THE GLOBE

• Promoting probiotic wine in Lebanon
• Anger as Algeria pores over new alcohol measures

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• What was the best wine in the Middle Ages?
• The Difference Between Beer Foam & Champagne Bubbles
• Chilling A Bottle Of Wine In 15 Minutes (VIDEO)

OLIVE OIL

• How olives changed the world

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER WINE & SPIRITS

• Don’t worry about mercury in whisky (but maybe worry about England?)
• Can a Group of Bartenders Save Mezcal?
• How Corona Made Cinco De Mayo An American Holiday

MARIJUANA

• Wine & Weed: A guide to flavor, pot pairings, wine profiles