NEWS FETCH – August 28, 2015

TOP NEWS

• Mercury-laden fog swirls over coastal California
• Smoky Washington Wine Grape Harvest
• Alarm raised over rail spraying in Healdsburg
• Napa poised to TKO the European grapevine moth
• Promises and Perils of Farming During California’s Ongoing Drought
• California Water Use Drops 31.3 percent, Exceeds 25 Percent Mandate for July
• Sniffing out fake wine without pulling the cork
• TTB Compliance can be simpler. Here’s how. *Sponsored Link*

GLOBAL WINE SUPPLY

• Napa Valley Grapegrowers Report: Thoughts on the 2015 vintage
• Harvest 2015 and long-term supply balance on the North Coast
• Mother Nature Always Bats Last- Harvest 2015 Update for Napa, Sonoma, and Central Coast

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Can San Francisco establish its first urban vineyard since the 19th century?
• ‘Premium’ means something different outside Napa Valley
• Richard Peterson’s ‘The Winemaker’ chronicles California’s tumultuous wine revival
• We are floating on a sea of denial in Napa
• Goodmanson named assistant winemaker at Bouchaine
• Harvest Stomp raises $827,000 for NV Grapegrowers programs
• Lower Alcohol Question Dunn and Dusted
• Exhibit at USA Trade Tasting (New York) and Grow Your Distribution in USA. Super Early Bird Ends August 31 *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Crowdfunding campaign for California drought relief
• El Niño Likely No Help For Northern California’s Reservoirs
• California’s current extreme drought must be a lesson for managing water in a warmer, more densely populated world
• A Lot to Learn: California Falls Behind in Water Management
• Thinking outside the pipe
• DWR presents the draft list of Critically Overdrafted Basins at public meeting in Clovis

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• Understanding International Shipping For Wine, Beer and Spirits
• How User Choices Can Boost Your Wine Club Membership & Loyalty. Click For A Free Best Practices Webinar *Sponsored Link*

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Australian Vintage profits drop
• Diageo wants more from China
• Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates puts faith in direct wine sales
• Former Tesco boss Philip Clarke to be quizzed by the Serious Fraud Office
• Majestic Wine PLC’s “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Liberum Capital
• Treasury Wine bulks up with luxury brands, inches away from plonk. And masstige (Masstige?!?)
• Cocktails at Target? It could happen in Chicago

FINANCE, M&A

• Beer Domestic Taxes-Paid Drop 1.9% YTD
• Wineries and Wine Importers: Here are some basic support programs and incentives to that can be used to drive your wine brand in distribution channels*Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• California Cabernet: time to invest?
• Auction to put Oregon Pinot centre stage

ALCOHOL, HEALTH, AND THE FRENCH PARADOX

• Red wine may have health benefits for eyes
• How does wine impact kidney health?

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Quick, Name an Australian Beer(?)

INDUSTRY DATA & TRENDS

• Cognac Show Exceptional Growth in the United States for 2014-2015

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Single critic opinions or panel tastings? Which is the best?
• The Biggest Wine Mistake at a Business Meal

MARKETING & SALES

• Why training is more important than marketing
• How to surprise and delight your best customers
• How to Manage Cash Flow to Expand your Winery, Distillery or Brewery’s Distribution. *Sponsored Link*

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Last chance to get the USATT earlybird discount
• 2015 Wine Bloggers Conference Presentations

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Facebook sets new record: 1 billion people on the site in a single day
• Women Three Times as Likely to Use Pinterest
• The traffic LinkedIn drives to publishers has dropped 44 percent this year
• Instagram breaks out of the box with portrait and landscape support for photos and videos
• Length Matters on Tumblr: What Short-Form and Long Videos Do for Millennials
• Why do so many social media influencers suck at driving conversation?
• This graphic shows why you shouldn’t connect to Wi-Fi in popular tourist areas

PAYMENTS

• Bitcoin is at a ‘fork in the road’ — Here’s what went down last time that happened
• Mobile Tech and the Shift to Cashless Payments
• Samsung starts testing its Apple Pay competitor in the U.S.
• Apple, and the war over your wallet

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• So you want to be a winemaker? Here’s some advice.

MEDIA MATTERS

• Novels that will make you crave booze

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Road Warrior Survival Guide ~ It’s not about anything but common courtesy
• How Mindfulness Makes Wine Taste Better and So Much More
• The Dirty, Sticky Truth About Winemaking
• Let Your Gizmos Go!
• All About Nebbiolo
• How to understand wine
• Wine as reward? Maybe it’s time to put a cork in it
• Filtering wine one way doesn’t mean it’s the only way. Click now to see the alternatives *Sponsored Link*

WINE PEOPLE

• Freddy Arredondo enjoys 2nd career as Cave B winemaker
• 6 Questions for a Malibu Winemaker

WINE PLACES

• Three stunning structures: Italian wineries to visit
• Travel: Tuscany wine trail
• Ambassador Wine and Spirits: Retailer Focus
• Winery Profile: Rosenblum Cellars
• Behind the Vines: Aspen Peak Cellars Winery in Colorado
• FL: Rosa Fiorelli Winery Inc. in East Manatee County heads in new direction

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• The Texas wine industry can’t hold a candle to New York

ACADEMIA

• Students, grapes converge at WSU Wine Science Center

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Feds Can’t Duck Pesticides Lawsuit

EUROPE & THE UK

• Sweden’s other wine buyers
• Germany’s independent retailers
• Corsican winemakers make push on Asia
• UK: Bottle Green to merge into Kingsland following acquisition

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Push on for wine tax reforms
• GraysOnline: 50,000 cases per month – and growing
• De Bortoli Wines keeps it in the family in the Yarra Valley

SOUTH AFRICA

• Atkin hails SA as ‘most exciting’ New World region

---

Today’s craft beverage links — and lots more news — can also be found at http://craftbeverageinsight.com/

TOP NEWS

• Not All Millennials Are Abandoning Big Beer
• ‘Craft’ Bourbon Is in the Eye of the Distiller
• Buzz is building around breweries’ nonalcoholic offerings
• Taproom Coffee’s Beerspresso

LAWS & REGULATIONS

• NJ Senator promoting three pro-craft beer industry bills
• Prohibition-Era Law May Prevent Japanese Restaurant from Serving Soju

FINANCE M&A

• Craft beer acquisition by Duvel — stay small, stay beautiful

LAUNCHPAD

• Bale Breaker Brewing Co. enjoying breakout success

MARKETING

• Smart beer branding in 2015 and beyond (video)
• LCBO invites Ontario craft brewers to join beer growler program
• Will Craft Beer Have Its Day in Low-Point States?

DISTRIBUTOR / SALES

• New Belgium Brewing to Open Hawaii with Young’s Market

PACKAGING

• Craft brewer hopes cans will persuade people to drink Moor Beer
• Kulshan Brewing latest craft brewer to package in cans

EDUCATION

• Introduction to mead making offered at UC Davis

SUSTAINABILITY

• How Craft Beer Brewers Brought Bottle Recycling to Montana

PEOPLE

• Q&A: Talking beer with Jon Taffer
• Beer Institute Names New VP of Public Affairs

BEER

• We’re Living in the Golden Age of American Ginger Beer
• Micro-brewers tap the potential of craft beer in India
• Butt dial, beer o’clock among newest dictionary words

SPIRITS

• Brandy: A Beginner’s Guide
• Is Taiwan’s Kavalan single malt the best whisky on the planet?

COCKTAILS

• How Katrina Spurred A Cocktail Renaissance In New Orleans