MARCH 6, 2023 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• Direct shipping Debate: Divergent Data but somebody is right
• The Wonderful Company Adds Vineyard Near Calistoga
• What We Could All Learn From ChatGPT
• How 4 Wine Businesses Delivered on Their Equity Goals
• California agriculture shifts to big tech as farming expenses soar
• Amazon Wanted to ‘Unlock’ the Liquor Market by Secretly Lobbying to Change Laws, Leaked Document Shows
• Gen Z Adults Give Almost 2X More Attention To Social Media Ads Than TV commercials (Also Don’t Like Online Ads)
• Wine Royalty of Paso Robles confidentially selling vineyard estate in Adelaida AVA. Click to learn more.– (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Foreigners keep buying Napa Valley wineries. But this one is different
• Investors one-year losses continue as Duckhorn Portfolio dips a further 4.3% this week, earnings continue to decline
• New genetic evidence shows that the grapevine was domesticated in two locations, and 3000 years earlier than previously thought

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Vintage 2022 put Austrian winegrowers ‘through their paces&apos’

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• 2023 Xerces Monarch & Pollinator Kits Available

WILDFIRES/SMOKE TAINT

• Napa County works on fire hazard road standards [paywall?]

WEATHER

• March 2023 Weather and Climate Summary and Forecast

DROUGHT/WATER

• Snow eases California drought and restores water levels but more needed
• As the West’s drought eases, this area remains in the worst on record — and it’s hitting farmers hard
• California rejects plans to protect San Joaquin Valley wells
• Could feds and farmers join forces to put groundwater back in Central Valley aquifers? [paywall?]

CLIMATE CHANGE

• Climate mitigation – serious business
• With climate change threatening Canadian vineyards, is genetically engineered wine on the horizon?

DIVERSITY

• The CFO of one of Napa Valley’s top wineries on diversity in the industry
• Meet 5 Local Women Winemakers
• Women in wine: Bordeaux
• UK: Majestic seeks new Diversity in Wine scholarship applicants

NEW OLD BRANDS

• D’Agostini: Historic Brand About to be Relaunched

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Vineyard turns to insects to repair environment, reduce pests, save money
• Cargo Road Wines welcomes predator insects to its vineyards

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Court Decides “Gruyere” Is Not “Champagne”

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Estimating The Fair Value Of Treasury Wine Estates Limited

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• The Investments That Defied Inflation In 2022 [paywall?]
• Liv-ex records modest growth in fine wine trades despite overall slump

DATA & TRENDS

• How To Tell If A Survey Is Credible: Minimum Standards

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Making the Case for Offbeat U.S. Wines
• When Wine Service Goes Wrong (podcast)

MARKETING & SALES

• The Art of Prop Alcohol and ‘Drinking’ on Screen
• What Will The Future Hold For Celebrity Endorsements In The Wine Industry [paywall?]
• Should low/no alcohol drinks face the same marketing restrictions as alcohol?

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Wine.Com Data Correlates Cork with Higher Quality Wines at All Price Points

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Is H-2A Working Out in the Vineyard?

MEDIA MATTERS

• Rex Pickett wrote ‘Sideways.’ Now he says he was ripped off [paywall?]
• Personal Review of Alice Feiring´s New Memoir

MATTERS OF TASTE

• When we taste wine, how accurate are our perceptions?
• Marlborough Sauvignon – too successful?
• What’s next for New Zealand reds?
• Engaging Zinfandel’s Youth Appeal

WINE PEOPLE

• The Wine Makers – Kira Ballotta (podcast)
• “Dialed” Hillary Sjolund, Associate Winemaker, Aperture Cellars, Healdsburg
• Boela Gerber, Groot Constantia’s winemaker, heads to United States
• Ann Kraemer’s Magic At Shake Ridge Ranch
• Bruna Flaibani on Biodynamics and why Friuli is Kissed by Luck

WINE EDUCATION

• Applications are open for the 2023 OIV Ampelography course in Chile

WINE TOURISM

• Is widespread wine tourism safe again, yet?

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Fungal pathogens that cause die-back in grape, avocado, citrus, nut and other crops has found a new host

EUROPE & THE UK

• Champagne Gardet digs 25m tunnel to abandoned wine cellar
• Cracking the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish Wine Markets: Insider Tips
• Scotland’s Bottle Return Scheme Moves Forward – Despite Trade Opposition
• Bottega Revenues Hit €86m
• CIVB agrees payment package for grubbing up unproductive vines
• French Politicians Wining on the Job

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• “Be very, very careful about investing in China,” warns Mark Mobius

LATIN AMERICA

• Argentina: Massa announces “wine dollar” for Argentine producers

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Every Step in Creating Tonnellerie Radoux’s Sought-After Wine Casks

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Is AB InBev losing faith in craft beer?
• Vinoshipper DTC Report: Cider Increases Market Share
• ‘If you don’t get RTDS right, it can damage your brand franchise’, says Pernod Ricard