NEWS FETCH — August 21, 2016

TOP NEWS

• Southern Glazer’s, Breakthru, White Rock, Pio Imports to Pay $9 Million in pay-to-play scandal
• U.S. is Chilean Wine’s #1 Market. Japan, China Close
• The PA Liquor Control Board will be dead by 2019
• Historic Calif winery tasting room at Elliston Vineyards damaged in 2-alarm blaze
• Sacramento County sues to block Delta tunnels – and its not alone
• Deals Were Done and Business was Written at IBWSS. *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Sonoma County supervisors to weigh disputed Knights Valley winery proposal
• Napa planners approve 5-story Black Elk hotel in Oxbow district
• California seeks labeling chlorpyrifos as “developmental toxicant”
• CA air samples for pesticides below health concern levels
• Wonderful Nurseries Lives Up to Its “Growers First” Reputation *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Heavy Storms May Be Enough to Recharge California Groundwater
• Ag industry is stepping up for safe drinking water
• Habitat Preferences of various Delta species

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Price-savvy Brits look to eastern Europe as Majestic sales soar 400%
• Amazon’s private brands have gone from $0 to $2.5 billion in sales in less than a decade
• Walmart has a futuristic new weapon in the war on Amazon

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Free-trade deal helps OZ wine sales to China

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Talking Trade On Liv-ex – 100-point activity

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Raids of Emerald Triangle marijuana farms could threaten industry’s legal compliance

HEALTH

• Grape compound found to work in synergy providing anti-cancer properties
• Prone to wine hangovers? Grapevine startup says its wand can help

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• USPTO Finds a Likelihood of Confusion for HOODWINKED for Beer and HOODWINKED for Wine
• Video: Can you accept an “outside” weigh tag?
• FDA supports restriction of NYC nutritional labeling laws
• Lawmakers Want to be Wooed by Wine Industry

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Wine tastings: should we assess wines by quality points or rank order of preference?

MARKETING & SALES

• Influencer Marketing: Old-School Rules Still Apply

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Corks fight back
• On wax capsules

IT: INFORMATION [AND] TECHNOLOGY

• How Australia’s Treasury Wine Estates went back to basics with its IT overhaul

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Sommeliers and buyers weigh in on how to balance education and work
• What It’s Really Like To Work A Winery Harvest

MEDIA MATTERS

• SOMM: Into the Bottle ~ This one is a hit for wine lovers

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Let the Haters Hate, and Other Life Lessons Learned From Winemakers
• Godello: The Comeback Grape
• Making Wine Your #Life – And Making It Matter

WINE PEOPLE

• Dave Gartelmann : Master Viniculturer
• Nick Jones: Wines of Momentary Destination
• Uncorked: Romain Loriot

WINE PLACES

• Your Top California Wine-Tasting Itinerary: Santa Barbara

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• TX: High Plains vineyard growers at odds with cotton farmers
• How N.J. wine became big business; what to know about a growing industry
• Connecticut wine growers contend with the elements
• Low-alcohol 3.2 beer sales drop in Minnesota
• NY: Want to be a farmer? Soon, it may be easier to find farmland.

ACADEMIA

• Washington state wine industry drives priorities for world-class research program

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Over exposed: vineyard volatility amid changing climate

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Is it Possible to Control These Insect Pests?
• MLF – Tool to reduce acidity and improve aroma under cool climate conditions (PDF)

EUROPE & THE UK

• Years of debate ends with new Bourgogne Côte D’Or approval
• WSTA calls for Brexit clarity as UK wine exports grow
• Alcohol dominates list of top seven UK food and drink exports
• Tom King joins WSTA board
• Heineken’s Takeover of 1,900 Punch Pubs Cleared by U.K.’s CMA

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Barossa Valley winemaker Trevor Jones pleads guilty to destroying wine from rival winery
• Australian drinking habits changing
• International stoush looms after OZ’s Harmans Estate names its new distilled spirit Pisco

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China’s first Master Sommelier named