NEWS FETCH — April 13, 2016

TOP NEWS

• Southern California water agency signs $175 million deal to buy Delta islands
• Feds to review if funds mishandled for California tunnels
• Constellation Could Ride Millennial Craft Beer and Wine Craze
• Ag coalition asks Congressional approval of TPP
• Tesco Reports Recovery, but It Warns of Price Wars
• This is how Charter Oak Winery doubled its production without doubling its costs *Sponsored Link*

WINE SUPPLY

• Colorado Wine Industry Development Board Anticipates Strong Year in Sales as a Result of 2015’s Robust Harvest
• Canberra’s wine harvest vintage report 2016
• This is how you can get meaningful reporting and compliance information from your business data *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Marin County man charged with embezzling from Napa winery
• California boosts pay for workers taking family medical leave
• Napa County study finds mostly stable groundwater levels
• Cosentino Winery’s founder has moved on to pureCru
• At Cline Cellars, Progress is Rooted in Tradition
• Grgich given key to city
• Area Experts Chosen to Lead Branding, Accounting Programs
• USATT Interview with Bill Earle from the National Association of Beverage Importers (NABI)*Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Sierra snow won’t quench California’s thirst
• Klamath water allocation brings relief for farmers
• Water, markets complicate farms’ planting plans
• Surface water, groundwater storage work together
• A California farmer who is preparing for climate change
• Delta Watermaster reports to the Stewardship Council on the results of last year’s voluntary reduction program among Delta farmers
• Changes in irrigation technology may lead to water quality gains
• How Regulatory Hurdles and Uneven Rains are Hampering California’s Drought Recovery

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• Rhode Island Legislators Consider Removing Archaic “Winery Visit Penalty” for Wine Direct Shipments
• Delivery.com acquires BrewDrop to boost alcohol orders in Texas
• Instacart Expands Partnership With Total Wine & More to Austin

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Australia Says First Trade Deal With India’s Modi Is Very Close

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Interview, Part 2: Beam Suntory Americas President Tim Hassett
• Tesco CEO Defends New ‘Fictional Farm’ Product Ranges
• Constellation Brands’ Fiscal 4Q16 Sales: The Beer Benefit
• LVMH Q1 miss expectations, but wine & spirits division shows growth

FINANCE, M&A

• Prairie Creek Beverages and Southwest Distillery & Winery Announce a Joint Venture to Form Southwest Spirits & Wine

DISTRIBUTORS

• Are You Really Ready To Pitch A Distributor: Here’s the Checklist *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Upward trends
• iDealwine update: reliable Haut-Brion

BORDEAUX 2015

• Rolland and the deafening silence of the press
• The 2015 Bordeaux Barrels Diary: Team Thienpont Wins Again
• Bordeaux 2015: the shape of things to come?
• First 2015 releases: a precedent set?
• TOP 500 Bordeaux Wines from 2015 Vintage

HEALTH

• How much alcohol is safe? Scientists warn of confusing rules around world
• Teenage Girls Now Try Alcohol Before Boys Do
• 7 Things That Happen To Your Body When You Go To Sleep Drunk

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• MI Gov. OKs grocery store gas stations selling beer, wine
• LSD Causes Unchill in DC

DATA & TRENDS

• This crazy enolytics chart tracks when it is “Wine O’Clock in the 10 largest U.S. markets

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Decoding Shelf Talkers: A Wine Buyer’s Guide
• Do consumers always need Bordeaux or Cabernet Sauvignon?
• What to tip your wine server

MARKETING & SALES

• Why Human Behavior Is At The Center Of Every Successful Advertising Campaign
• 4 Simple Technologies That Will Help Double Your Sales
• 6 Secrets to More PR in Less Than an Hour a Day

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• A short guide to the most common terms on a bottle

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Oak suppliers to present trial wines during walk-around tasting at April 27 conference
• Vinitaly celebrates 50 years and change is in the air
• Garagiste Wine Festival: “Northern Exposure” Premieres in Oakland on Thursday, May 19
• DIRECT: Sponsors & Exhibitors
• 10 Tips to Designing the Perfect Trade Advert *Sponsored Link*

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Google Calendar’s newest feature uses machine learning to help you actually accomplish your goals
• YouNow is the latest platform publishers are using to reach young audiences
• Facebook delivers new ways for publishers make money (and get readers) from Instant Articles
• Publishers rush to get their bots on Facebook Messenger
• 2 reasons I’m optimistic about Instagram’s algorithm change
• Teens are ditching Instagram for Snapchat at a stunning rate
• Brands Must Adapt to Emerging Social Networks, Apps
• Some Small Business Websites Are Still Not Mobile

MEDIA MATTERS

• Meg Houston Maker Joins The Circle of Wine Writers

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Gourmet meals are filled with bacteria – and they taste delicious
• Does Wine Taste Different as You Get Older?
• Acidity is not the key to a wine’s ageability
• It is detrimental to suggest that natural wine can be the result of pure chance
• Terroir Is Not A Myth
• The parable of the winemaker
• Port: the Englishman’s wine
• An Exhaustive Guide to Fortified Wines
• The Language of Tasting Notes
• 15 rules for attending a wine tasting

WINE PEOPLE

• Founding Father of Wine – Thomas Jefferson
• Adam Bilbey, Sotheby’s Head of Wine in Hong Kong
• If you want the truth, ask a consultant, like D. A. Miller

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• The VineRobot project starts its final phase with improvements in sensors, data processing, and crop maps
• Protein Discovery May Be Key to Understanding Pierce’s Disease in Grapes (video)

EUROPE & THE UK

• Spanish sparkling-wine maker Freixenet gets offer
• Pierre-Jacques Druet (Bourgueil) in liquidation
• Italian Wine Gets a Big Push in China
• Italy toasts booming wine trade
• Vineyard vandals attack Clot de l’Oum in Roussillon
• Famous Clos Cristal (Saumur-Champigny) available to rent
• UK: Independent wine merchants can boost sales by championing Argentina

DOWN UNDER

• Discovery of Red Blotch vector in US underlines Australian biosecurity measures
• Australian wine maker sharing knowledge with Chinese industry
• Contrary to opinion, Western Australia wines can break into China’s vast market

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China’s Largest Online Alcohol Retailer Jiuxian.com Visits Watershed Premium Wines (OZ) as Part of Direct Purchase Agreement

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Why Jews replaced wine with beer in Bavaria

MARIJUANA

• New Report Indicates Significant Economic Impact in OR from Cannabis Retail Sales

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

• NBWA Brewery Count Over 4,800
• Microbrewers adopt Mars colonisation technology
• Constellation Could Ride Millennial Craft Beer and Wine Craze
• The Honest Desire Of Beer To Find Its Place
• Are you a woman looking to work in craft beer? We ask female leaders to share their stories and advice

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