NEWS FETCH — May 14, 2018

TOP NEWS

• Insolvent Sonoma Cider assets for sale. Auction bids due by this Friday (May 18)
• Beer, spirits, & wine packaged imports up +5.9%, exports drop -12.7% ($ value/12 mos ending 03/31/18)
• Small Wineries Hoping for Tax Cuts Face Massive Tax Hikes Instead
• Last Chance: SVB Live DtC Videocast
• Urban wine tasting room sales revenues suck! (Compared to winery)
• China busts biggest wine smuggling ring since 2017
• Here’s how to avoid costly mistakes by managing your barrel inventory with bar codes – Click now to learn how. *Sponsored Link*

IN MEMORIAM

• Fred Furth, prominent Bay Area attorney, Sonoma County vintner and philanthropist, dies at 84
• Napa Valley vintner Koerner Rombauer has died

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Wine in cans showing explosive growth from small revenue base. Other alt-packaging also growing strongly
• Submissions now open for 2018 USA Wine Ratings: Where wines are judged by Quality, Value and Package *Sponsored Link*

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Rotten Vintage Challenges Champagne’s Reserves
• Wines of Germany sees growth in greater China
• This Year’s IBWSS San Francisco Theme Is “Bulk Up Your Bottom Line” *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Marijuana tax nets California more than $60 million
• Brown’s budget increases cannabis tax revenue estimates despite disappointing first quarter
• Record-Breaking Almond Crop Predicted for 2018
• Two Napa Valley vintners’ plan to revamp Vallejo’s north Mare Island gets nod to City Council
• A Vintner’s Quest to Create a Truly American Wine
• Napa County continues post-eradication monitoring for European grapevine moth
• Silverado Farming Chosen For Westwood Estate
• How to Design Your Winery Website to Connect and Keep Customers *Sponsored Link*

FIRE SEASON 2018

• After a fiery 2017, west coast winemakers are adapting to a changing climate
• Cleanup of debris from October wildfires is now 99 percent complete
• The fires could not quench the beauty of California’s wine country
• Planning For Crisis In Wine Country

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Jim Beam Heir Turns to Pot With Plan for a Cannabis Empire
• Appellations, Lush Farmland, and Talented Growers. Welcome to the Napa of Weed
• Ohio Attorney General certifies marijuana legalization petition
• Women shaping the cannabis industry
• Cannabis Drinks Expo Launched By Beverage Trade Network will bring the global Cannabis drinks industry into one roof. Get more information here. *Sponsored Link*

DROUGHT/WATER

• When water is scarce
• Habitat Restoration for Chinook Salmon in Putah Creek: A Success Story
• Can an uneasy truce hold off another water rebellion on California’s northern border?
• California WaterFix Implementation Prompts Organizational Adjustments at DWR
• Seawater Intrusion Threatens Some of California’s Richest Farmland

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• A Crowded Field Of Apps Battles To Deliver Wine Across The U.S.
• Liquor Commission Banning New Hampshire Consumers from Buying More Than 200,000 Wines
• Time to let Minnesotans buy beer, wine, and (some) liquor at grocery stores

REAL ESTATE – What’s this new section about?

• Paso Robles Vineyard for Sale, 100 Acres $4,300,000
• Pat Kuleto’s dreamy wine country estate listed for $8.499 million

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Crimson Wine Group reports lower sales
• Walmart’s deal to buy Flipkart came with an interesting caveat

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• The Flying Winemaker acquires Gladstone Vineyard in NZ
• OZ: Four Hunter vineyards on the market for a grand total of $32million

DISTRIBUTORS

• Minnesota Beer Distributor Workers Continue Strike Over Safety Concerns
• Discover new and exciting products at the 2018 USA Trade Tasting. Get your visitor pass today and avoid $40 gate fee. *Sponsored Link*

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Wines from Château Lafleur’s 1992 vintage go on sale at Christie’s Hong Kong in May
• Pre-French Revolution wines to be sold at auction
• La Tache ’78, Mouton ’59 Among Wines in Sotheby’s New York Sale
• Five top lots to watch at Bonhams’ upcoming Hong Kong auction

BORDEAUX EN PRIMEUR 2017

• Chasse Spleen 2017 released
• Gazin 2017 released
• Cantemerle 2017 released

DATA & TRENDS

• 11 tasters and 20 wines, and very little consensus: Judgment of Paris

HEALTH

• Mediterranean diet may protect against Alzheimer’s

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Brexit and Trade Marks: What trade mark owners should do now
• Bullying breweries and distilleries is no way to fix Alaska alcohol laws

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Women should test wine at dinner as they have better palates
• Should Wine Tasting Strive for Objectivity? The No Argument
• So what if Steven Mnuchin likes a $20 wine? That just means this millionaire knows value.
• The secret restaurant where wine pros go to open their own stuff
• It costs a lot to be a wineaux

MARKETING & SALES

• Storytelling and other ways to sell wine

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Berry Bros & Rudd introduces Helix closure to UK retail

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Powerful Line-up of Keynote Speakers Announced for Women of the Vine & Spirits International Summit – London
• 2018 Wine Bloggers Conference Agenda

PAYMENTS

• Buying a Bottle with Bitcoin

IT: INFORMATION [AND] TECHNOLOGY

• So long, Kuvee wine gadget – we won’t miss you

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• The Gender Pay Gap: Trying to Narrow It
• A look at Women of the Vine & Spirits

MEDIA MATTERS

• Publishers, ad tech firms scramble to comply with GDPR

WINE PEOPLE

• Chrishon Lampley on being a black woman in wine: ‘You can’t tell me I’m a fad’
• How Michael Mondavi’s Hard-Won Wine Collection Proved California Wine Ages Well
• Harpers catches up with Esporao’s David Baverstock
• Matthieu Finot of King Family Vineyards
• The Circuitous Path from Network News to Fine Wine ~ Tim Ortman

WINE PLACES

• Your Next Favorite European Wine Region Isn’t in France, Italy, or Spain

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• WA: Police chief says he’s seen decrease in DUI, even with booming wine tourism
• NY: Winery owner busted for ‘illegal moonshine operation’

ACADEMIA

• Fifteen years of women in wine at Walla Walla Community College

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• How to talk about biodynamics

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Wine metabolome
• Grapevine Bud Break 101
• CA Gov Brown’s revised budget boosts ‘climate smart’ ag

EUROPE & THE UK

• Saunders rejoins Bibendum as Chief Executive
• Putting the fizz back into Catalonia’s cava
• A Wine Billionaire Emerges in Bordeaux
• Rioja embraces geography
• Italy Launches Major Campaign to Promote Italian Wine
• Romania and Moldova plan to develop joint wine routes

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Idyll Wine targeting growth in export market after $7m investment in plant
• Step inside a quirky wine wonderland in South Australia
• OZ: Mt Pleasant ignites a spark in chief winemaker role

CRAFT BEVERAGES: BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• How Goose Island sale to Anheuser-Busch changed craft beer is detailed in new book