Napa’s Sutter Home Hammers Amador Wineries, Claims It Trademarked “Sutter”

Sutter Home Winery has been hammering small Amador County vintners with legal threats, claiming that it has trademarked the word “Sutter” and is vowing to enforce it against all comers.
Amador County newspaper, the Ledger-Dispatch, has reporting that at least three wine-related businesses in or around the town of Sutter Creek, have been coerced by Sutter [...]

Written on July 31, 2009 | Posted in Featured Articles | No comment

NEWS FETCH - July 30, 2009

Could the Recession Change the Taste of California Wine?
The Top 10 Most Sustainable US Wineries
Bordeaux: First Growths by mail
Midwest: Farm Credit Hosts 10 College Students In Internship Program
SC: The fine art of wine
Foster’s sets up $US500mln loan facility with Asian banks
Fosters Speculation on Wine Unit Sale Increases, Review Says
NJ: Four Sisters Winery for [...]

Written on July 31, 2009 | Posted in News Briefs | No comment

NEWS FETCH - July 29, 2009

UK: Berberana uncorks consumer loyalty scheme
LVMH announces massive wine revenue slump
NY Senate Dems revisit grocery wine sale bill
Goldman Sachs Added Diageo plc (DEO) To Conviction Buy List
Broadbent Sues Random House for libel in U.K.
Canada: Booze profits rise 4 per cent despite downturn in BC economy
Financial Crisis provides France with homegrown grape-pickers
Oz: Sydney International Wine [...]

Written on July 30, 2009 | Posted in News Briefs | No comment

5,000 pot plants confiscated near Sonoma Vineyards

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat has reported that narcotics detectives uncovered a multi-garden marijuana operation just outside of Sonoma on Highway 116 early Wednesday morning, confiscating 5,000 plants and taking two people described as guards into custody.
The gardens were located in rolling hills to the west of Stage Gulch Road in an [...]

Written on July 30, 2009 | Posted in Worth A Look | No comment

Boxes and $20+ Wines Lead June/July Sales, Champagne Flops

Domestic table wine sales continued to climb in the four-week period ending July 12, 2009. VIP Subscribers click here to read complete, un-redacted article.

During the same period, imports edged into negative territory.  According to Wine Industry Insight’s analysis of data from Information Resources Inc, U.S. wines posted a 5.1 percent gain for the over the [...]

Written on July 29, 2009 | Posted in Featured Articles | No comment

NEWS FETCH - July 28, 2009

Social Media Engagement: Worth the Investment?
Oz: Boozemonkey wine social network breaks web traffic milestone
Lake County Winegrape growers discuss new appellations, marketing
Wines, watches drag down LVMH H1 profit
Would You Eat Cloned Fruit?
Foster’s Wine Estates names chief marketing officer
UK: Ritz-Rothschild red proves sales success
Oz: Wine Not just for the ladies
Oz: Scientists turn their noses to shiraz
AR: [...]

Written on July 29, 2009 | Posted in News Briefs | No comment

NEWS FETCH - July 27, 2009

Copia plan goes to a vote
Sales Tweets spark UK buying frenzy
Alcohol, tobacco stocks weather recession
Red wine increases female sex drive, say hopeful Italian scientists
Fortune Brands: Fortune Brands To Webcast July 24th Conference
California winemakers fall for Mourvedre
NZ: Secure supply contract enhances vineyard auction
Oregon patriarch of pinot has passed the torch
Brunello Blending Investigation Ends
Horses help in [...]

Written on July 28, 2009 | Posted in News Briefs | No comment

IBG Gets New Vine In Auction With No Bids

The Inertia Beverage Group auction of New Vine Logistics assets was over before it began, according to the few who attended the 10 a.m. gathering today at the offices of IBG’s San Francisco law firm, Cooley Godward, Kronish.
THREE COMPANIES REPRESENTED
Those attending said that, other than IBG, three firms were represented: Wine.Com, WTN Services and American [...]

Written on July 27, 2009 | Posted in Featured Articles | 1 comment

Inertia Beverage Group Secures New Vine Assets

Inertia Beverage Group Secures New Vine Assets
—Statement by Inertia CEO Ted Jansen—
(NEWS RELEASE - Napa, CALIF)—Inertia Beverage Group is pleased to have obtained New Vine’s assets through the public auction process. This outcome ensures that Inertia Beverage Group will be able to service New Vine’s former clients on an uninterrupted basis, resulting in even greater opportunities for customers, the [...]

Written on July 27, 2009 | Posted in Worth A Look | 2 comments

Appellation America to Downsize & Reorganize

NEWS RELEASE, July 27, 2009
Napa, CA Appellation America, the web site focused on the regional diversity of North American wine, has made a tough decision to downsize its operations, reducing staff and forgoing the addition of new feature articles other than those related to the Best-of Appellation program. The economic [...]

Written on July 27, 2009 | Posted in Worth A Look | No comment