NEWS FETCH — April 11, 2016

TOP NEWS

• Diageo chairman to step down
• Etienne Hugel, Alsace wine ambassador, dies at 57
• USDA Accepting Applications for 2017 Export Market Development Programs
• Marijuana sales top spending on wine and milk in Spokane County, WA
• Glassy-winged sharpshooter eggs found again in Napa County
• This is how Charter Oak Winery doubled its production without doubling its costs *Sponsored Link*

WINE SUPPLY

• South Africa: Wine grape quality still good amid drought
• Is Syrah Hitting Bottom or Finding its Niche?
• This is how you can get meaningful reporting and compliance information from your business data *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Why We Should Honor Farm Workers as Much as Winemakers
• Napa wine industry opposes proposed watershed initiative
• Sonoma State University faculty cheer pay deal that scuttled strike plans
• The Women Who Rule Napa
• Rekindling a Family Tradition at Beringer
• CA Almond growers, beekeepers urged to report post-bloom hive damage
• USA Trade Tasting 2016 Toasts to Overwhelming Success *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Drought is the new normal. We need less shaming and more incentivizing
• Water woes turn California into haves and have nots
• Overflowing reservoirs not enough to quench drought
• Time to Manage Reservoirs Differently
• Will La Nina follow one of the strongest ever El Ninos?
• How we did: A drought report card
• Secret twin tunnels deal sold out the Delta
• Large coalition of interest groups send letters to CA State Water Board and US EPA urging the feds to step in and set new Bay-Delta water quality standards by the end of 2017
• Sailing the Seas of Data Discovery

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Costco wine and its retail domination

FINANCE, M&A

• Smart Wine Dispenser Catching Fire on Kickstarter

DISTRIBUTORS

• How to support your brand and help your distributor *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 has continued to push higher last week
• The 2015 Bordeaux Barrels Diary: Dragon Scales in Margaux
• Bordeaux 2015: The Year of Choosing Carefully
• Bordeaux 2015: is it a ‘great’ vintage?
• Bordeaux – which wines are worth buying en primeur?

HEALTH

• Does New Research Indirectly Affirm Red Wine’s Reputation to Prevent Heart Disease?
• Want to lose weight? Eat chocolate and wine

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• (Legal) Moonshiner and University Battle Over Rights to ‘Kentucky
• NY: Couple’s Dream of a Family Winery Crushed by Zoning Board Decision

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Better options this year for filling four cups at the Seder

MARKETING & SALES

• Why Do You Hate Selling? Because You’re Being Selfish. (video)
• Windsor marketing campaign promises ‘start of something good’

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Champagne houses are looking to pioneer isothermal packaging
• MMAAZZ releases advanced sensor technology to reduce damage in the packaging process

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Why Is Vinitaly International So Obsessed with Native Grapes?
• London Wine Fair 2016: what you need to know
• What distributors expect from a supplier visit *Sponsored Link*

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Understanding and Engaging With Your Social-Savvy Customers

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• West Coast craft beer wages continue to outpace rest of nation.

MEDIA MATTERS

• 4 Steps for Writing Long-Form Content
• The Wine Show: it’s Top Gear for booze … I hate myself for loving it

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Promiscuity In The Wine Cellar Pays Off
• Sauvignon Blanc grape – climatic, winery influence, most important regions
• The Secret Element Which Makes a Wine Better With Age
• Wine is not the goal
• Jo Diaz’ Story for Passion of Wine ~ Partie deux
• How Do Dessert Wines Get So Sweet?
• On belonging

WINE PEOPLE

• Rosemary George, Master of Wine
• The incredible journey of a SA sommelier
• Interview with a winemaker: Vietnam vet Ray Coursen
• Robby Younes of Grand Award–Winning Restaurant Latour
• Ntsiki Biyela, a dreamer making her mark in the South African wine industry (podcast)

WINE PLACES

• The present and future of Dr. Frank’s Winery
• Lake County wineries: Meet the names on the bottles
• The Valtellina: Nebbiolo’s Other Kingdom

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Itasca Joins List of Cold-Hardy Grapes
• Palisade pours revenue into Colorado wine industry’s overflowing success

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• The Climate Change Paradox

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Winemakers warned of increasing natural disaster risks
• Ag community or business community?

EUROPE & THE UK

• Sicilian producers focus on UK as a main export market
• UK: The Co-operative’s BWS boss has radically overhauled the retailer’s drinks range
• Solid as a Rioja
• Biondi-Santi rumored to be focus of bidding war reports Sole 24 Ore
• Italy’s Selex Sees Growth In Private Label Wine Sales

DOWN UNDER

• NZ wine industry embraces automation
• Irrigators count down to South Australia’s Riverland water allocations
• OZ: New website connects wineries to consumer

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Why Italian Wines Are Not No. 1 In Hong Kong And China

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Roman Imperial leaders had wine empire away from the battlefield
• Watch peoples’ mood change after glasses of wine

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS – A sampling of today’s headlines:

• Are Investors Being Left Out of the Craft Beer Boom?
• The Rise of Craft Hard Cider
• Are We Really Running Out of Scotch Whisky?
• Why We Should Honor Farm Workers as Much as Winemakers
• Waste Not, Want Not: Wastewater Considerations for Craft Brewers

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