NEWS FETCH — February 20, 2018

TOP NEWS

• Wine grape outlaw Jeff Hill scores multi-million-dollar stock deal
• What Should Smaller Grocery Chains Do To Avoid Getting Crushed By Amazon?
• B.C. to challenge Alberta ban on B.C. wine
• Weed won’t cause brain damage the way alcohol will, study finds
• 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)

• Napa land and grape prices continue to rise, but are due for a pause says Silicon Valley Bank
• 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

• OZ: Adelaide wine regions begin grape harvest with red grapes rating among the best vintages in years
• Exports of White Burgundy to Hong Kong surge in 2017
• 2017 must be one of the most disaster-strewn years since phylloxera
• Save now! — Vinexpo New York: March 5 & 6 – Register to Attend with Wine Industry Insight Discount Code: WII100 & Save $50 *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• California’s Renegade Winemakers Are Pouring Weird, Wonderful Wines
• Burning pickup in Windsor vineyard reveals body
• 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*

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Cannabis Cures, Wine Kills…Right?
• Meet the Napa Valley Cannabis Association
• 90 cannabis farms are blatantly ignoring the ban in California Valley, SLO County says
• California pot growers lagging in getting licenses
• Why California’s cannabis growers are staying in the shadows
• Cannabis Drinks Expo Launched By Beverage Trade Network will bring the global Cannabis drinks industry into one roof. Get more information here. *Sponsored Link*

AMAZON

• Amazon’s Prime Rewards Visa cardholders now get 5% back at Whole Foods if they pay for Prime

WILDFIRES

• As Fire Risk Explodes Across the West, an Oregon City Finds a Solution

DROUGHT/WATER

• 2017 Climatic Conditions in Napa, and What We Can Prepare for in 2018
• Yountville receives low-water advisory for Rector Reservoir; officials concerned but not ready to order conservation
• CA to ban wasteful uses of water, but it won’t actually save that much

RECYCLED WASTEWATER

• From waste to taste: Orange County sets Guinness record for recycled water

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Online marketing training for wineries launches with social media strategy course *Sponsored link*

REAL ESTATE – What’s this new section about?




PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Anheuser-Busch wants in on Sacramento’s booming craft beer scene

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• David Ricardo to Donald Trump: Global Wine Trade and Its Discontents
• Australia may be engaging in ‘free trade’ but it’s becoming more protectionist too

DISTRIBUTORS

• Looking to grow your distribution in the US? Here is how USATT can help!*Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• How to Make the Most of a Trade-Only Wine Auction
• 1,000 Top Wine Industry Professionals to Gather for 22nd Annual Premiere Napa Valley
• Bordeaux 2008: performance of the First Growths
• Best-performing DRC labels

DATA & TRENDS

• Is the Endless Growth of the Wine Industry Coming to an End?

HEALTH

• Drinking alcohol plays role in living past 90
• Is red wine good actually for your heart?

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• TN: Proposed bill would fund pre-K with Sunday wine sales
• Food safety auditor calls FSMA unconstitutional

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Letting the Genie Out of the Bottle

MARKETING & SALES

• A guide to making your winery’s social media easier and more professional *Sponsored link*

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• The Pros and Cons of Different Wine Stoppers

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Underdog Varieties – Wines that deserve a second chance *Sponsored link*

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• How Brands Can Take Advantage of Instagram Stories

PAYMENTS

• Google Pay’s big global rollout begins
• U.S. Congress considers cryptocurrency rules and regulations

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• No sick leave slams business bottom line & makes flu epidemic worse

MEDIA MATTERS

• The Favorite Wine Books of Top Sommeliers

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Why Volcanic Wine Is Becoming A Hot Topic
• In praise of lighter vintages
• On Wine Snobbery, part one
• In defence of sluts
• Waverly Inn’s Jeff Harding Shares A Fun, Refreshing Way To Sip Sauternes
• Aszú revolution: Modern styles redefine Hungary’s historic elixir (PDF)

WINE PEOPLE

• Uncorked: Rosemary Cakebread

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• Phononic Survey Reveals Consumers’ Preferences for the Grocery “Store of the Future”
• Your Next Truffle May Be Coming From Greece
• Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa falls into administration

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Washington Wine Industry Foundation raises $160,000
• Ice or iced wine? Tradition vs. innovation in Upstate New York’s vineyards

ACADEMIA

• Middle Tennessee State University Offering Fermentation Science Degree

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Italy has embraced the sustainable wine movement more strongly than any other major production country

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Webinar to Highlight Organic Management of Spotted Wing Drosophila

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: Vindependents loses two founder members
• Eurnekian’s Karas Winery Wins Again in Trademark Dispute: Gharibyan Finds Verdict “Ridiculous”
• How tax increases and new regulatory freedoms around lower alcohol drinks are driving changes in Finnish wine consumer behaviour
• Chapel Down announces appointment of director

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: The rise of the supermarket phantom brand — secret private label products
• OZ: Water? In your wine?

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• More Chinese consumers buy imported goods online during Spring Festival
• How Chivas is working with the NBA to drive whisky sales in China
• DRC in the PRC | Is this the worst “ice” wine in China?

LATIN AMERICA

• Argentina to create 40 new wine ‘ambassadors’ for the country

SOUTH AFRICA

• South Africa: Wine producers struggle, but structural shift underway
• Everything you need to know about Cape Town’s Day Zero plans

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• The Wild Ancient Greek Drinking Game That Required Throwing Wine

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• UK report: Spirits ‘benefitting’ from low-alcohol trend