NEWS FETCH — May 15, 2016

TOP NEWS

• Canadian officials ready for NAFTA renegotiation talks with U.S.
• Labor shortage hits hard in Sonoma County
• Napa’s Worker Squeeze Tightens
• Lethal arrogance? Oroville Dam crisis sprang from Pat Brown’s towering ambition
• Stop paying high state taxes! This interactive chart shows how
• The shocking reason Aussies are soft on drinkers
• 2017 USA Trade Tasting Is Here. Join The Industry In New York City On May 16-17. Get Your Tickets Here*Sponsored Link*

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• 2017 vintage tracking just ahead of cool vintages in the Pacific Northwest
• Big frost is back – but why?
• Wonderful Nurseries Moves to 100% Root Socks for All Potted Vines! *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa vintners begin to take a page from cutting-edge UC Davis winery
• Paso Robles has 11 distinct wine regions. Here’s what makes each one different
• This Sacramento grocery store not only sells beer and wine – it serves it as well
• Napa County supervisors may allocate some hotel tax revenue for housing
• Eden Rift aims to revive heritage winemaking in California
• Charter Oak Winery doubled its production without doubling its costs. You can too. Click to learn how. *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• No more Sierra snow? Think again
• Science is clear: the tunnels will hurt the Delta
• Retail point-of-sale materials don’t need to be expensive! Click now to learn more about high-quality, affordable displays and ads. *Sponsored Link

RECYCLED WASTEWATER

• Veggies Grown With Toilet Water Could Be Headed to Your Table

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Grow Your Private Label, Contract Winemaking, Contract Bottling and Bulk Wine Business Today. Only 10 Exhibitor Spots Left For IBWSS San Francisco! *Sponsored Link*

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Anheuser-Busch InBev shuts out craft beer brewers by hoarding hops
• Moët Hennessy appoints new UK MD
• A Closer Look At Target’s Grocery Focus
• Amazon is now worth two Walmarts

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Montevino Partners Ltd bust for £1.5 million

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Got a Plan B(rexit) for your UK Wine Business?

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Destin Charity Wine Auction Raises $2.7 Million
• Bordeaux 2016 Wine Starts to Price Above 2015, Liv-ex Data Show
• Talking Trade- Bordeaux’s back, Liv-ex 50 climbs
• Pape Clement 2016 released
• Trade’s confidence in Bordeaux grows
• Strengthen financial planning with fine wine

DATA & TRENDS

• Rosé Shines Through Red Wines’ Dominance

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Santa Rosa cannabis business fuels land-use feud

HEALTH

• Red or white wine? Genetics may determine what you like to drink

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Opus One, and the argument for varietal diversity
• Are wine connoisseurs scientists or charlatans?
• One final word about La Moneda malbec, “the world’s greatest cheap wine”

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Screwcaps allow wine to age gracefully
• Crown opens greenfield plant in New York

CUSTOMER RELATIONS

• Customer service. Where does it begin?

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Google will now remove ads from web pages that violate AdSense policies without punishing entire website
• Snapchat installs fell 16% in April as Instagram continues to pull further ahead
• How chatbots can refine the customer acquisition process
• Facebook Is Automatically Adding Images, Links From Landing Pages to Canvas Ads
• Brands: Are You Prepared for a Social Media Security Breach?

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• California Supreme Court Finally Provides Guidance on Seventh Day Rest Requirement
• Yes! Showing Up Is An “Essential Function” Of Your Job

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Do You Speak Wine Science?
• What a Wet Spring Means for Grapevines
• The politics of Zin

WINE PEOPLE

• Hardy Wallace Gets Dirty And Rowdy
• Q&A: Thelema’s Rudi Schultz on Shiraz
• Meet the moms of the Breedekloof Wine Valley
• Uncorked: Naoki Watanabe, Suntory

WINE PLACES

• Flora Springs: 40 years of stories in the Napa Valley

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Removal of lees from underneath wine to reduce wine movements and tank cleaning (PDF)

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: Food and drink companies going for growth despite Brexit
• Rothschild And Álvarez Families Are Launching A New Winery In Rioja
• Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte appoints new managing director
• UK: Amber Beverage acquires stake in Cellar Trends

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• New Indian sparkling wine aims to alter the way you down the bubbly

OLIVE OIL

• Texas to Host First Olive Oil Conference

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• The future of the beer market: ‘You can’t talk about growth without talking about premiumization’
• Idaho hop growers to add 1,500 acres this year
• A new beer, the ‘Pisner’, was made with human urine collected from a music festival