NEWS FETCH — October 4, 2017

TOP NEWS

• Congressional tax break favors big beer and wine over craft
• Trader Joe’s and Sprouts shoppers defect after Whole Foods drops prices. Other grocers hit as well.
• Mallya rearrested in London on money laundering charges
• Tree services company hit with $95 Million Penalty For Hiring Undocumented Immigrants
• Confidence in U.S. Economy Dips to +4 in September
• New London wine competition will rate wines for commercial success and consumer appeal in addition to quality. *Sponsored Link*

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• A look at the first six weeks of Washington’s harvest
• This year’s heat wave has been good for the Ohio grape harvest
• New Brunswick wine industry hoping to celebrate vintage year

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Sacramento County agriculture values reach record high
• Yountville hotel upgrade to target business groups when wine tourism slows
• Wonderful Nurseries Lives Up to Its “Growers First” Reputation *Sponsored Link*

REAL ESTATE – What’s this new section about?

• ** 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

• Amazon’s Plans To Sell Booze Run Afoul Of Regulators
• Tesco resumes dividends following 7th consecutive quarter of growth
• Majestic puts focus on customer wine ratings in website revamp
• Only a fine cabernet can save Toys R Us
• Amazon ordered to pay Europe €250 million over unpaid back taxes

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Penfolds invites promising entrepreneurs to compete for “Maximum Funding”

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Liv-ex 100 drifts 0.2% in September
• Liv-ex 1000 falls for first time in twenty-two months

DATA & TRENDS

• Drizly Sept 2017 data: Beer’s decline has not slowed, wine continues to gain as a result

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Why merlot is making a comeback
• Harvest Fair competition reaps insights
• New special wine ordering system for Pa. restaurants starts
• New self-serve taprooms in Chicago invite you to pour your own beverage

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Waitrose launches half bottles of wine for mid-week drinkers
• CCL Industries Acquires 100% of Chilean Venture

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• How Important Is Instagram To The Food Industry?
• Facebook’s Watch videos are being viewed an average of 23 seconds

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• House Judiciary Committee unveils bill to create new agricultural guestworker program

MEDIA MATTERS

• Viral Hit from a Carneros Winery

MATTERS OF TASTE

• The Wine God Is in the Details
• Wine is Just So Depressing [satire]

WINE PEOPLE

• Finding the American Dream through Wine
• The Wine Kim Crawford Makes After He Quit Making Kim Crawford

WINE PLACES

• Columbia Valley: Washington’s Biggest Wine Region

WINE TOURISM

• Republic of Georgia’s Tourism Strategy is Starting to Pay Off

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• How one intrepid, roving winemaker is putting Willamette Valley sparkling wine on the world wine map

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• U.S. climate change policy: Made in California

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• New research uses mussel shells to control grass grubs in vineyar

EUROPE & THE UK

• Catalan grape variety Sumoll gains traction in the UK
• Hattingley and MWs Susie Barrie and Peter Richards launch English wine initiative

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Grape growers slow to adopt safety code

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Low-end Chinese wines still dominate domestic wine market

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Tsipouro or Raki(i): They’re Both Greek Moonshine Craft Distilled in New Jersey
• Vodka: A tale of terroir
• Brewery creates beer for menopausal women