NEWS FETCH — September 11, 2016

TOP NEWS

• Torrid temperatures shrivel California wine grapes to raisins
• Pot use soaring, alcohol not so much
• Sonoma County vineyards want to build bunkhouses for more than 170 seasonal farmworkers
• States Raise Revenue Without Raising Taxes By Repealing Arcane Alcohol Restrictions
• 2017 hottest summer in California history; Cut-off low may bring widespread thunderstorms
• New London wine competition will rate wines for commercial success and consumer appeal in addition to quality. *Sponsored Link*

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Record heat hit California wine regions around harvest time
• US booze exports value up 10.6% in first half of 2017
• French wine and spirits exports rise by 12% to €6bn
• Cyprus: Price concerns in wake of grape glut
• England: Denbies Wine Estate reports earliest ever harvest
• FREE Beverage Trade Network Membership! A $249 VALUE. Exhibit at USA Trade Tasting 2018. Offer Expires Sept. 12. Sign up NOW!*Sponsored Link

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Mendo pot growers staying illegal, drive violent crime rate higher than LA
• Acumen Taps Henrik Poulsen as Director of Winemaking
• Napa Valley Sub-Appellations “impart no useful information to the consumer.”
• Wine Women launches Fall Marketing Series
• Wonderful Nurseries Lives Up to Its “Growers First” Reputation *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• Reborn watershed initiative has Napa Valley Vintner backing
• State’s Delta tunnels project got improper subsidies, audit says
• Floodplains in California’s Future

REAL ESTATE – What’s this new section about?

• 42.3 Acre Lake County Hillside Vineyard For Sale
• Mitigation/Conservation Land 1 Sky Ranch Dr. , Livermore , CA | Contra Costa County, CA $2,254,000 322 acres
• ** Sponsored link: Estate Vineyard,Tasting Room & Ranch with spectacular top-of-the world views, $3,950,000, 110 Acres, California. Confidential listing. Click now for more info and non-disclosure details.

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Constellation Brands – A Sinfully Good Buy

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Farmer Groups Are Furious About Trump’s Threats to Withdraw From Free Trade Agreements
• Trudeau Teams Up With Canadian Labor in Push for Nafta Reforms

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• How Blockchain Can Restore Trust In The Wine Industry
• Tips for handling assets from wine cellar
• What to know about saving fine wines after a major storm
• The biggest new wine store in DC isn’t actually a store at all: Zachys comes to DC
• Talking Trade – new releases captivate market

HEALTH

• This Mirrored Tableware Could Trick Your Brain Into Changing Your Eating Habits
• Why Diet Advice Seems to Keep Changing

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Even in digital era, restaurant wine lists still carry a cachet for vintners
• Judging the Wines of Argentina Awards 2017

MARKETING & SALES

• Millennial wine-love is shaping the market
• Gen X, the ‘Sweet Spot’ Generation (podcast)

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Nutritious, Vitamin Wine

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Vinexpo brings wine buyers to Vienna

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Engagement with Instagram Videos Is Surging
• Facebook Groups for Pages May Be the Best Thing for Brands on Social
• Facebook Wants to Know if You Want to Meet Up With Your Friends

PAYMENTS

• Bitcoin drops $500 after more reports China will ban cryptocurrency exchanges

MEDIA MATTERS

• Back to Burgundy – Film review

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Why lionize winemakers but not viticulturists?
• Drawing the Natural Wine Battle Lines
• Variety focus: Chardonnay
• Thank You, Italy

WHY IS THIS STILL A THING?

• Blue wine is now a thing because your Instagram doesn’t have taste buds. (Un) Fortunately, we do.

WINE PEOPLE

• Meet the man making wine on the edge of Europe’s largest active volcano

WINE PLACES

• Georgia is cradle of wine, confirms international study
• The Sardinian Way

WINE EDUCATION

• 3 New Masters of Wine on How They Did It

WINE TOURISM

• The Rise of the Winery Bachelorette Party

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• PA: Spotted Lanternfly Population Large This Year
• The Drinks Community Steps Up for Hurricane Harvey Relief
• Eclipsing a family’s dream in Idaho: converting a dairy farm into a winery

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Nature isn’t on a rampage. That would be us
• OZ: The weather data is there; how do we respond

EUROPE & THE UK

• Symington collaborates on robot field trials as labour shortfall hits Douro
• The ethnologist in the cellar: How a co-operative in Languedoc saved its village
• British ministers have been drinking less wine thanks to Brexit
• Marco Pierre-White says only a numpty would buy English wine
• Rathfinny first to gain ‘Sussex’ wine approval as it seals distribution deal with Gonzalez Byass
• Buried Beaujolais to be dug up

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Agriculture now largest contributor to national GDP growth
• OZ: Increase in alcohol consumption for the first time in nearly a decade
• OZ: Hunter Valley plays lead role in high tourism numbers

OLIVE OIL

• OZ: Marketing olive oils like wine