NEWS FETCH — February 2, 2018

TOP NEWS

• Ste. Michelle, other Altria-owned wine assets down 8.5% on 2017 net revenue
• U.S. immigration agency demands documents from dozens of Northern California employers
• Napa wine industry fights to protect Napa Valley name on labels
• With storms skipping state, nearly half of California is back in a drought
• US support for legal pot hits a record high — Gallup
• Low levels of alcohol good for the brain
• Here’s how to avoid costly mistakes by managing your barrel inventory with bar codes – Click now to learn how. *Sponsored Link*

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• US Wine Growth Forecast stable for 2018
• Looking for wines to import into the U.S.? Find international producers on “Route USA” at the ProWein 2018 trade fair. Click to lean more. *Sponsored link*

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Stormclouds Gather over Champagne
• Exporters to benefit from fall in US excise taxes
• Sauternes 2017: Frost damage hits Barsac hardest
• Become an Exhibitor By Feb 10 and Meet Distributors, Retailers and Importers at the 2018 USA Trade Tasting and Get 2 Day ABID Conference Ticket Included *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa Valley’s Theorem winery buys 23 Sonoma County vineyard acres
• Central Coast ranchers, growers provide input on 2018 federal farm bill
• Napa NIMBY Radicals’ Motives Exposed: Roll Back the Napa Wine Industry
• Wine’s Rise in the Orange County Dining Scene
• AAA offering ‘Tipsy Tow’ after Super Bowl to Napa drivers
• Cannabis Drinks Expo Launched By Beverage Trade Network will bring the global Cannabis drinks industry into one roof. Get more information here. *Sponsored Link*

CA WILDFIRES

• Wineries, brewery donate for fire relief
• Post-fire health survey now open to North Bay residents
• Changing the Narrative of the North Bay Fires

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Marijuana mapped: the price of weed across the U.S.
• It’s high time for restaurants to pay attention to marijuana

AMAZON

• The Amazon Go effect: How bots fit into the future workforce
• Amazon reports nearly $2 billion in profit, blowing past Wall Street expectations for holiday quarter

DROUGHT/WATER

• Extraordinary winter warmth and dryness to persist as West Coast ridge dominates
• First-of-a-Kind Agreement in Colorado Could Aid West’s Ailing Rivers
• CA now facing cascade of litigation over Oroville Dam
• A Tale of Two Tunnels: California WaterFix

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Wine Lovers Face Increasing Hurdles Ordering Online
• Oregon wineries see surge in direct-to-consumer sales
• Mississippi: Support REAL Direct Wine Shipping

REAL ESTATE – What’s this new section about?

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Alibaba’s global ‘new retail’ proposition helps revenues rise 56% as it makes investment into Ant Financial
• Canadian Company Inventing Marijuana Beer Sees a Surge in Funding Following Government Decision and Entry of Constellation Brands into the Industry
• PG&E Stock Has Another Wild Swing After California Fire Rumor

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• US must rejoin TPP, ag policy expert says
• OZ: Trade deal to help boost wine exports

DISTRIBUTORS

• McManis Family Vineyards Announces Marketing Agreement with The Wine Group
• Looking to grow your distribution in the US? Here is how USATT can help!*Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Auction of Washington Wines Invests in Local Wine Industry
• iDealwine update: Northern Soul

HEALTH

• Red wine proves good for the heart (again)

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Tenn. lawmakers consider Sunday wine, liquor sales

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• What wine consumers want – and how to connect

MARKETING & SALES

• Yellow Tail returns to hawk wine during Super Bowl and deliver sandwiches to attendees

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• WSU workshop helps growers address soil acidity
• New Mexico State University to host annual fruit growers workshop at Los Luceros Ranch March 1
• Call for Content for the 2018 Wine Bloggers Conference
• Underdog Varieties – Wines that deserve a second chance *Sponsored link*

PAYMENTS

• CRYPTO CRASH: Bitcoin at $8,000, market loses $120 billion in 24 hours
• Roubini Says Bitcoin Is the ‘Biggest Bubble in Human History’

MATTERS OF TASTE

• ‘Dream Tasting’; the potable story of Chateau Montelena
• 5 Ways Luigi Veronelli Wants You To Think Deeply About Italian Wine
• The Science of Cracking Open a Cold One
• The riddle of chenin blanc in South Africa
• New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Has a Fresh History

WINE PEOPLE

• Dick Parsons Reveals His Passion for Winemaking

WINE PLACES

• You’ll find many kinds of folly in Languedoc, the world’s biggest wine region
• For the best of Bordeaux, take the Graves and Sauternes wine route

WINE EDUCATION

• Four Ways to Increase Your Knowledge About the Napa Valley Wine Region

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• New app rates restaurant noise levels

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Washington sets out to woo the wine world
• OH: Gervasi Vineyard adding a distillery, luxury hotel

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Miguel Torres: Carbon capture man

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Berry Grower Says She’s Beating Spotted Wing Drosophila With Netting
• SmartVinyards technology provides real-time information about irrigation
• Angel Yeast partners with Renaissance BioScience

EUROPE & THE UK

• ‘Time running out’ for wine & spirits free trade warns WTSA
• Italy’s Inflation Rate Rose More Than Expected in January
• Independent wine merchant would spark “more graveyard sex”

SOUTH AFRICA

• On this day 1659: The first wine in South Africa

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• [Satire]Hey Marvin! We find out what it takes to get an audience with Wine Spectator’s Marvin Shanken. (A kidney!)

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Four pressing questions the craft beer industry needs to address in 2018
• Trump tax cut worth half-a-billion dollars to distillers
• Finding a Niche for American Craft Sake
• North Carolina Is Hopping