NEWS FETCH — February 6, 2016

TOP NEWS

• Wine War Heats Up With Canada
• Yellow Tail’s Super Bowl ad ‘humiliates’ Australia
• Beer Tops List of Beverage of Choice, But Wine Sees Gains in Popularity
• One young craft beer makes a big economic impact in Sonoma wine country
• Why California’s Cannabis Industry Will Lead Water Innovation
• Post-Holiday US Consumer Spending Shows Typical Decline
• Charter Oak Winery doubled its production without doubling its costs. You can too. Click to learn how. *Sponsored Link*

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Bitter Winter for Idaho Wine Grape Growers
• Winemakers: instantly access key wine & cellar data from anywhere to make key decisions & manage your staff better. Click now to download vintrace’s time-saving app! *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Former Sonoma County official going to work for vintners
• At Napa Valley wineries, the visitor is king (annoying survey alert)
• Greenbelt Alliance has praise and warnings for Napa County (annoying survey alert)
• Seven apply for St. Helena Planning Commission
• CA: Gender-Neutral Restroom Guidance
• RARE! Historic downtown Calistoga commercial property with restaurant and winery leases in place. This net leased investment offers income and pride of ownership. Click now to learn more. *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• California’s Wettest Drought? – 2017
• California regulators want to extend statewide drought restrictions despite wet winter
• California farm groups continue to push for more water
• No complaints about the rain from Ukiah Valley grape growers
• Looking for wines to import into the U.S.? Find international producers on “Route USA” at ProWein 2017 trade fair. Click to lean more. *Sponsored Link*

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• A Record-Breaking Year for Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipments
• Are You Looking To Open More States and Connect With Distributors? Then Book Your USA Trade Tasting Exhibitor Spot By Jan 20 *Sponsored Link*

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Beer And Liquor Stocks Not Feeling So Good? Ask AB InBev

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Mexico readies to revise NAFTA
• What will happen to Italian wine if America enters into a trade war with Europe?

DISTRIBUTORS

• Top 10 Tips To Present Your Wines to US Importers *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• A big week for Burgundy
• Anti-fake bottle system keeps tabs on wine with electronic tags

DATA & TRENDS

• Misinterpreting statistical averages — we all do it

HEALTH

• Grapes Can Protect Against Alzheimer’s
• Maybe moderate drinking isn’t so good for you after all
• I discovered I was a ‘dry drunk’. Could you be one too?

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Rhode Island GOP proposes eliminating beer tax

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Home’s where people drink most of their wine. Restaurants aren’t even close.
• Scoring for value
• 10 Key Trends For Italian Wines In U.S. Restaurants
• Boston taking applications from restaurants for BYOB

MARKETING & SALES

• Should Wineries Get Vocal About Their Politics?
• Super Bowl Ads: Are Politics the New Sex?
• Embrace the “Cute Kitten Theory” of Wine

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Gotham Project, Free Flow Wines open wine packaging facility in Bayonne, New Jersey
• One more reason why we need screwcaps

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• The rise of Snapchat from a sexting app by Stanford frat bros to a $3 billion IPO
• Here’s How to Use Facebook Live on a Page
• How to take advantage of Facebook’s focus on longer videos

PAYMENTS

• Bitcoin is rallying for an 8th straight day
• National Restaurant Association urges Trump to keep debit swipe fee protections in place

MEDIA MATTERS

• Comcast NBCUniversal to Televise Wine Oh TV With Monique Soltani Throughout California

MATTERS OF TASTE

• When microbiology is a data problem: Putting science together to make better pictures of yeast
• Ice Wine, You’re So Fine

WINE PEOPLE

• Alice Baker discovers winemaking as a new way to connect to the earth
• Kat Doescher: Pairing wine with experiences

WINE PLACES

• 11 great wine regions you’ve probably never heard of

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• CO: Specialty crop financial grants available
• Virginia Wine Board Issues Marketing RFP

DOWN UNDER

• Aussie winemaker opens door to Moroccan market

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China’s Wine Market Is Growing

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Maybe Black People Just Don’t Like Craft Beer