NEWS FETCH — February 2, 2016

TOP NEWS

• How Much Has the Strong Dollar Affected U.S. Wine Imports?
• Wine prices could go up after California wildfires leave tons of grapes unusable
• Sonoma County makes nearly $1 million bet on the Super Bowl
• Proposed AZ Wine Shipping Bill Would Bar Shipment of More than 60% of All US Wines
• Italian police find 9,000 bottles of fake Moët champagne in Padova
• China wine imports rise strongly in 2015
• This former winery GM shows you how you can easily get meaningful reporting and compliance information from your business data *Sponsored Link*

WINE SUPPLY

• Hunter vignerons remain optimistic despite wet harvest
• OZ: QLD winegrowers look forward to harvest after wild weather last year
• Marlborough rakes in lion’s share of record NZ wine exports
• Idaho wine grape harvest off by half
• Your ticket to the world of wine! Experience creations from 6,000 exhibitors at ProWein 2016 *Sponsored Link*

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Industry lobbyists set out benefits of trade deal in letter to John Key
• Stephen Jacobi: What Labour’s not seeing in TPP deal

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Peju Province Winery purchases Acacia Vineyard facility
• Westwood Estate Wines Names Natalie Winkler Asst Winemaker
• Perry promoted to winemaker at Bokisch

CALIFORNIA GOES TO POT

• Medical pot bill on Brown’s desk
• California doctors’ lobbying group formally backs marijuana legalization
• Here’s how marijuana legalization would work in California

DROUGHT/WATER

• El Niño remains among strongest ever recorded, but California impacts (so far) a bit different than anticipated
• The Impacts of El Niño on California’s Drought
• Water Deeply Executive Summary for February 1
• 2nd disastrous drought year for endangered California salmon

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• Does DTC mean the death of the wine store?
• How to Hire Top-Selling Sommeliers and Drive Your Sales *Sponsored Link*

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Bargain Booze owner cheers surge in sales

FINANCE, M&A

• Charles Banks: The VC Who Actually Makes Money Investing In Wine Brands
• English craft brewery Red Squirrel has launched a £500,000 crowdfunding drive
• Sainsbury’s bets on Argos takeover for digital age
• Wine Importers and Distributors, meet the world in NYC and source your next brand at USATT. Get your trade Pass Now and Avoid Gate Fee. *Sponsored Link*

DISTRIBUTORS

• Kroger wine, direct shipping, Bordeaux
• Southern EVP Will Conniff to retire
• Terlato Wines to Import Château de La Tour
• Practical Information for wine reps on how to successfully grow sales network in US Market *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Liv-ex 100 Index gains 1.1% in January
• Macallan reigns at Sotheby’s

HEALTH

• What components of wine might cause headaches and upset stomach?

DATA & TRENDS

• Global Consumer Confidence in 2015: A Year of Change
• China will be the top wine-consuming country by 2027
• The Unstoppable Rise of Beer
• Millennials: Changing of the Guard
• Video Replay of the SVB Wine Report & Chat

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Ageing wine critics

MARKETING & SALES

• The five things you need to enter the US market
• Apps for wine drinkers. What every winery should know.

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Turning design on its head

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• WA: Groups seek public, private dollars for farmworker housing
• Teamsters ratify Philadelphia terminal contract

MEDIA MATTERS

• Agenda Updated and Speakers Selected for the Wine Bloggers Conference
• February – the sweetheart month, and some of its women wine blogging sweethearts

MATTERS OF TASTE

• MK Zinfandel – agonies and ecstasies of micro-scaled wine
• Decoding French Wine Labels and Terms
• The 10 rules of food and wine pairing by Karen MacNeil

WINE PEOPLE

• Freixenet: It is All about Family
• Jancis: One day, my son…

WINE PLACES

• Argentina: No More Tears
• OZ: Kangaroo Island wine goes European
• Champagne’s Golden Age
• The Mâconnais on the Move
• The Hermitage Hill and all of it’s lieux-dits

WINE TOURISM

• Wine Tourism in South Africa May Double by 2025 as Rand Tumbles
• HMS Travel Group, Food & Wine Trails Merge With Adelman Travel

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• EPA Says Pesticide Threatens Honeybees
• Drappier ‘first’ carbon neutral Champagne house
• California adopting sustainable winemaking

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Tips To Prevent Winter Injury
• Research Pays Off in Ontario

SOUTH AFRICA

• VinPro Foundation celebrates graduates
• Vergenoegd – onwards & upwards

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS – A Sampling of Today’s Headlines

• The Unstoppable Rise of Beer
• Paso wineries to pour at Garagiste ‘Southern Exposure’ festival
• MK Zinfandel – agonies and ecstasies of micro-scaled wine
• A Brief History of Collaboration Beers
• English craft brewery Red Squirrel has launched a £500,000 crowdfunding drive
• Marathon Mania in China Poses Sizeable Business Opportunity for Beer Brands

Get the rest of today’s craft news at Craft Beverage Insights