NEWS FETCH — May 25, 2016

TOP NEWS

• Feds Indict Republic National Distribution & 3 Employees Indicted in $9 Million Smuggling Scheme
• $100 million of counterfeit wine in circulation
• Alibaba expects 100m shoppers for ‘wine sales day’
• Farmworkers are treated unfairly in California. Sacramento has a chance to right that wrong
• Another organization says glyphosate “unlikely to pose carcinogenic risk”
• Corporate America Chases the Mythical Millennial
• U.S. Economic Confidence Index Static at -15
• This is how Charter Oak Winery doubled its production without doubling its costs *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Sea Change Coming To California Winegrape Landscape
• Antinori’s Antica Napa Valley Venture Reaches Critical Mass
• Mondavis Discuss Generational Changes
• We’re all in Pursuit of Balance
• Pursuit of Balance Finally Peters Out
• Deadline to reserve USA Trade Tasting Exhibitor space with super early bird pricing is 31 May, 2016. Reserve your spot with 25% down and save $900. *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Despite drought, California agriculture is doing well, but there are hidden costs
• Troubled waters for California farmers
• Oakdale Irrigation District fails transparency test, says Director
• ‘Welcome to California water wars’: State’s congressional delegation debates water plans on the House floor
• Groundwater regulation impacts appear uncertain for the Sacramento Valley
• Court blocks Oakdale Irrigation District fallowing program
• As Lake Mead dwindles, can an interstate water war be far behind?
• One million more acre-feet of water per year
• Eight reasons why Restore the Delta doesn’t support the Garamendi-Feinstein bills
• This is how you can get meaningful reporting and compliance information from your business data *Sponsored Link*

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• Want to grow DTC sales by 108%? 46Brix can help.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Panama Canal Expansion To Bring Trade Opportunities To Florida

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• How Australia’s flagship wine maintains its position
• How Treasury Wine defied the cynics

DISTRIBUTORS

• Republic National Distributing Company Responds To Action Taken By U.S. Attorney Of Maryland
• Are You Really Ready To Pitch A Distributor: Here’s the Checklist *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Firm Alleges Rudy Kurniawan Sold It $2.45 Million in Fake Burgundy, and Wine Merchants Helped
• Bid:offer ratio touches new high since market low
• Penfolds-Maker Touts $142,000 Barrels of Wine in Hong Kong
• Tale of Wine Incompetence, Crookery and Comedy
• Christie’s appoints Jasper Morris as Hospices consultant

HEALTH

• Report Says GMOs Offer No Risk To Human Health
• Scientists have figured out exactly how much fun it is to get drunk
• 13 Subtle Signs Of Alcoholism That Are Easy To Miss

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• How new NY alcohol laws will affect businesses

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• What to know about restaurant wine lists

MARKETING & SALES

• Millennials Are Starting to Spend More
• 5 Ways to Become a Master Storyteller
• Millennials Are Driving a Shift in SMB Marketing

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Counterfeit alcohol packaging is now more sleek, professional and harder to detect
• A new type of wine packaging
• Wine design and packaging

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• DIRECT: Tentative Agenda Released
• Wine writers at work
• 10 Tips to Designing the Perfect Trade Advert *Sponsored Link*

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• What Twitter’s new rules on character limits mean for advertisers
• The Wine Show’s Amelia Singer on being a social (media) butterfly
• Anti-Social Media Labels Want You To Quit Browsing

MEDIA MATTERS

• Book Review: ‘Sweetbitter’ is a novel to be savored

MATTERS OF TASTE

• A Short History Of Freixenet And Six Things You Should Know About Cava

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Walla Walla Valley primed for vineyard development (PDF)
• New Tennessee alcohol director named as wine sales near

EUROPE & THE UK

• Copestick Murray sells remaining 40% share to Henkell & Co
• First look inside Bordeaux’s world-beating museum of wine
• UK: Over 55s warned over wine investment scams
• Berry Bros MD Jeremy Parsons steps down

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Sour grapes as wine loses $1m support
• Solar project gives ray of hope to struggling Australian grape growers

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China overtakes US as most attractive food and beverage market

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Fun Facts About U.S. Wine Drinking Habits

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

• Corporate Beer Overlords Will Soon Own 1 Out of 3 Beers Made on Earth
• San Diego’s Ballast Point Marks Virginia’s Fourth Craft Brewery Score
• Beer Institute releases March domestic tax paid estimate
• What Will Happen to Craft Brew Alliance Inc Next? The Stock Just Increased A Lot

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