NEWS FETCH — May 26, 2016

TOP NEWS

• Smaller North Coast 2016 crop may increase ‘buyer fatigue’ from high grape, wine prices
• Obama races to cement the big Pacific Rim trade deal that all his potential successors oppose
• Monsanto Says Bayer Bid ‘Financially Inadequate’
• This is how Charter Oak Winery doubled its production without doubling its costs *Sponsored Link*

WINE SUPPLY

• Tight Market for Grapes and Wine
• SLO winemakers say grape-growing season off to promising but tenuous start
• Moist, foggy mornings during bloom highlight importance of proper canopy management for Santa Cruz Mountains growers
• Winter rains, more surface water benefit SJV grower’s crop prospects
• Water picture brightens for this year’s raisin crop
• Grape crop report: more vibrant BC white wines to enjoy this season
• Chilean bulk prices to rise following poor harvest
• This is how you can get meaningful reporting and compliance information from your business data *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa or Sonoma? Here’s what your vineyard estate home is going to cost you.
• Napa Valley Vintners to Host Hong Kong Wine Auction
• A Note From The Chappellet Family
• What the Maker of Sutter Home Wines Is Trying to Do Next (video)
• 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

• Conflicts swirl around San Joaquin Valley irrigation drainage plan
• Deal forgiving Westland’s $330 million debt defended
• California Farm Bureau Federation seeks movement on drought bills
• “Fixing” California’s water rights system
• House wading into California’s long-running water war

RECYCLED WASTEWATER

• Recycled Water Key to California’s Water Security

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• $198,000 for a barrel of red as son of Penfolds Grange rises
• Hennessy Following Up Banner Year With Continued Expansion In 2016

FINANCE, M&A

• Bayer confident it can make a deal with Monsanto

DISTRIBUTORS

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

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Where next for Parker’s 100-point wines?
• Fine wine: Masseto makes progress
• Baghera Wines stands by wines’ provenance
• Counterintelligence expert speaks up about Alibaba, online fakes and corruption

HEALTH

• What’s really causing that red wine headache
• Why alcohol makes you feel warm – and other strange effects it has on the brain
• These Health Benefits Of Red Wine Will Make You Immediately Pick Up A Bottle
• America can’t eat its way out of this massive cheese problem

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Virginia Bar Challenges Food-Drink Ratio Law
• Reminder: California Regulation Requires Warning Labels for BPA

DATA & TRENDS

• Sparkling varieties boost popularity of sake among young women, non-traditional markets

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Here’s how to pay less than $10 on top-rated wine

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Champagne houses use smart cap to deter counterfeits

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Why this MW thinks Vinexpo Hong Kong is Asia’s Most Important Wine Show
• Vinexpo Hong Kong 2016 in full flow
• Vinexpo Hong Kong 2016 China Market Conference
• 10 Tips to Designing the Perfect Trade Advert *Sponsored Link*

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Facebook wants advertisers buying mobile ads, not desktop ads
• Facebook’s Windows 10 app will soon let you broadcast live video from your desktop
• Twitter signals shift away from social commerce as it disbands ‘buy’ button team
• People Aren’t Feeling Facebook’s Reactions

PAYMENTS

• Visa’s CEO just threatened to go after PayPal ‘in ways that people have never seen before’
• PayPal to discontinue Amazon Fire, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone apps on June 30

MATTERS OF TASTE

• What’s the Big Deal About Rare Grapes
• Flowering: The Determinant Of A Good Or Bad Year In The Vineyard

WINE PEOPLE

• Being the ‘Black Sheep’ of the Wine Business
• From Football Pitch to Vineyard: Alberto Malesani
• Winemaker Dan Petroski of Massican (podcast)
• Olivier Humbrecht of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht (podcast)

WINE TOURISM

• Wine Tours in the Historic Wine Region of Peloponnese, Greece

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Wine In Colorado: Where Cool Climate Grapes Are The New Hot
• Local winery submits petition to create Upstate New York wine region

ACADEMIA

• Colorado Mesa University’s new majors include study of wine
• Lake Michigan College Showcasing Wine Making Program

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• NRCS Invests $4.3 Million To Combat Climate Change

EUROPE & THE UK

• Fomenting a Spanish red wine revolution
• France’s new wine theme park comes of age

DOWN UNDER

• Seasonal workers will head to New Zealand if Australia ramps up backpacker tax
• Australia: the Kong Fu wine

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China the promised land for South African wine makers

SOUTH AFRICA

• What South African wine needs to do to crack the American market

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Bacterial diversity in soils was shaped by ice ages

JUST WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS: ANOTHER RIEDEL

• Company Launches Line of Glassware that Claims to Improve the Wine Experience

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

• Majority of U.S. House of Representatives Support Beer Tax Reform
• RNDC Indicted On Federal Smuggling Charges, But CEO Proclaims Company’s Innocence
• ABI-SABMiller Deal Gets EU Approval, But Is Delayed In U.S. Amid Distribution Concerns
• This Biotechnologist Claims to Have Created Anti-Aging Vodka
• Why Are We Magnetized By Beers of the Past?

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