NEWS FETCH – December 8, 2014

TOP NEWS

• Strong dollar will hurt wine, other exports
• Wine is too cheap for the long-term health of the industry
• Obama poised to veto California drought bill
• Wine cork makers seek to put a stop to declining sales
• Agriculture Exceling With “Internet of Things Innovation
• British House of Lords Gets Über Snotty Over Champagne Vintage
• Take control of your wine costing and set your prices with confidence *Sponsored Link*

HARVEST 2014/GLOBAL WINE SUPPLY

• 2014 Harvest Report – Quinta do Noval (Douro)
• Rhône Producers Happy With 2014 Vintage
• OZ: Hail storm wreaks havoc on Lake George wineries
• OZ: Grants needed for vineyard tornado damage
• Save time and money – order ProWein 2015 tickets online at reduced rates! *Sponsored Link*

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa County fears Walt Ranch could hurt city reservoir
• Napa begins tackling Altamura Wine Center project
• Locals among bidders for Copia property

DROUGHT/WATER

• El Niño may be getting too much credit for California rainfall
• California’s ‘Hot Drought’ Ranks Worst in at Least 1,200 Years
• Lessons from the Australian Drought
• The House Rules Committee debates the California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014
• Valadao introduces last-minute drought bill
• Emergency drought bill deserves to die
• Los Angeles, City of Water
• California needs more rain
• The facts on ag water use

PASSAGES

• Diane Teitelbaum, 1946-2014
• WA: Goose Ridge Winery founder remembered for innovation

DIRECT SHIPPING

• Ship Wine as a Gift Without Breaking the Law
• Grow Direct To Consumer Sales *Sponsored Link*

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Diageo defends Formula 1 sponsorship
• Pernod Ricard closing sales gap with USL
• Hawesko seeks new buyer after rejecting Detlev Meyer’s $443m offer

FINANCE, M&A

• Zipz wine gets $2.5 million funding on Shark Tank
• Chinese investors pursue more chateau deals across France
• Yealands probes capital raising, possible IPO
• Great Gift? How About an Affordable Classy Bordeaux?
• Calif: Pacifica offers two large vineyards for sale

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Liv-ex Index rises:: 28 Nov- 4 Dec
• Christie’s Abrupt CEO Exit to Prompt Auction House Review

HEALTH

• Red Wine: Cancer Causing Or Cancer Protective? Researchers Say Both
• Mediterranean Diet Slows Down Ageing And Halts Killer Diseases
• Will FDA’s Calorie-Count for Alcoholic Drinks Affect Your Drinking?
• High-altitude grapes produce more antioxidants and phenolic compounds
• The science of how booze affects your body

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Repeal Day! (Eighty Years of “Now What?”)
• Prohibition Laws Linger 81 Years Later

MARKETING & SALES

• Wine Australia steps up foodie focus

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Half of Google’s online ads are never actually seen

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Myth Busted: If You Like Sweet Wines You’re “Basic”
• In Praise of South African Avant-Garde Wine

WINE PEOPLE

• Grape Geneticist Dr. Carole Meredith On Her Life Among the Vines
• Alessia Antinori On Wine And Preserving A 600 Year-Old Family Business

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: New Food Crime Unit targets wine fraud
• Sauternes high speed rail plans will jeopardise noble rot
• Drouhin reveals key to success in 2013

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Organic certification opens Chinese market for SA Winery
• Australia to substantially increase Japanese grape exports
• NZ: Reds, Whites, Blues, and Greens on Waiheke Island
• New book reveals Tasmania’s key role in Australian wine industry

BAD IDEAS: IN CASE OF FIRE REACH FOR THE …. ?

• A fire extinguisher in the guise of a wine bottle

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Wine from 1930s unearthed in Nazi bunker

OLIVE OIL

• IOC backs a reasonable one-year extension
• Why Olive Oil Prices in Greece are Falling
• Opera Olei – an innovative project that unites six Italian monovarietal EVOOs

CRAFT BEER, CIDER & SPIRITS

• 21 Things People Who Love Wine Are Tired of Hearing about craft beer