OCTOBER 17, 2018 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• At $20 million, Vinfolio — after 15 years of financial instability — moves into #12 position in wine tech funding series
• Rootstock expert, Jim Wolpert dies
• US online grocery sales to quadruple by 2023
• Vermont leads nation in per capita craft breweries
• Canada now world’s largest legal marijuana marketplace
• Here’s how to avoid costly mistakes by managing your barrel inventory with bar codes – Click now to learn how. *Sponsored Link*

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ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Saucey ranks #13 in wine venture funding survey, #2 in on-demand delivery
• Master Sommeliers stonewall significant scandal questions
• What Makes a Good Sommelier? *Sponsored Link*

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• ‘Normal’ Growing Season in Lodi Could Make for an Epic Vintage
• 100,000L of premium NZ wine set to drench market
• Douro harvest delivers quality on back of “absurdly low” yields
• Why it is difficult to export wine to the US (podcast)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• WX Brands buys 2 Rebel Coast Winery brands
• Related article: WX Brands – Winetech funding
• 150-year-old farm keeping up with the times
• Gloria Rivera joins Silverado Vineyards as Northeast District Sales Manager
• How To Build a Wine Program That Creates A Loyal Clientele *Sponsored Link*

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Legal cannabis vs. black market: Can it compete?
• Drinks firms enter Canada’s new legal cannabis market
• Santa Rosa cannabis shops await approval as city favors housing
• Sonoma County limits pot growing to farms of at least 10 acres
• Legal highs: The drinks companies taking on cannabis (slideshow)
• 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

• Update on Southern California regional groundwater conditions
• The Connection between Groundwater and Surface Water

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Colorado Announces New Rules for Remote Sellers That Could Affect DtC Wineries
• Indiana: Time to Remove the Winery Direct Shipping Lockout

REAL ESTATE – What’s this new section about?

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Instacart now valued at $7.6bn following $600m funding round
• Instacart’s new $7 billion valuation is a bet on the future of grocery delivery — not a wager against Amazon

DISTRIBUTORS

• Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits buys distribution facility in Katy, TX
• Discover new and exciting products at the 2018 USA Trade Tasting. Get your visitor pass today and avoid $40 gate fee. *Sponsored Link*

HEALTH

• Red Wine Components May Epigenetically Help Prevent Breast Cancer Growth

MS CHEATING SCANDAL COVERAGE

• Do prestigious wine ‘Master Sommeliers’ really matter?
• The only two master sommeliers in Massachusetts respond to a wine world scandal

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• The Aim of Wine Criticism Is Appreciation
• Yeah, You Are Drinking Merlot, Actually
• Meet The Pink Bottle Boys, Shattering The Stereotypes of Rosé

MARKETING & SALES

• Big Wine Brands’ Bizarre Beginnings
• Bears! Terror or terroir?

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Wine has room to grow in small formats

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• IBWSS London Opens Visitor Registration. Sign Up For Special Early Bird Conference Pricing.

PAYMENTS

• Could The Hotelier Coin Be The Answer To Revamping The Hospitality Industry?

IT: INFORMATION [AND] TECHNOLOGY

• UK supermarkets to trial facial recognition for alcohol sales

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• WA: Larson Orchard settles lawsuit with H-2A workers
• Wine.com to Hire 800 in Locations Nationwide for Upcoming Holiday Season
• Related article: Wine.Com – Winetech funding

MEDIA MATTERS

• New Napa Valley book creates a “Passion for Wine”
• 3 Must-Read Wine Books for Fall

MATTERS OF TASTE

• The Truth Behind Your Favorite Wines
• Fighting for the rights of wine
• Blind tastings gone wrong
• Blue wine? A tea-infused vintage? Spain startup shakes things up

WINE PEOPLE

• Tom Jago: 1925-2018

WINE EDUCATION

• WSET: Spirits in need of brand neutral knowledge

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Ste. Michelle winemaking, vineyard chief to retire
• Padilla Named AOR for Virginia Wine

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Monty’s 2018 organic/BD audit

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Mediterranean coast: A new pest is causing damage in 2018

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: Howard’s Folly to up production five-fold

DOWN UNDER

• NZ: Most Marlborough wineries tested non-compliant with waste disposal
• OZ: Domestic tourism reaches record heights

SOUTH AFRICA

• South African wine industry puts sustainability first
• Survival, Change and Transformation
• Waste not, want not water