Afternoon Brief, April 3
Sauvignon Blanc Gets Serious on California’s Central Coast: From the tips of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the deep canyons of Santa Barbara County, there’s a Sauvignon Blanc renaissance underway...
Afternoon Brief, April 2
Wine And Spirits Retail Sales Remain Vibrant In The Golden State: It’s been two weeks since California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the state’s 40 million residents to stay home except when necessary, and retail sales of beverage alcohol in the Golden State continue to surge...
Afternoon Brief, April 1
Coronavirus Brings Quick Changes to State Alcohol Laws: States are temporarily relaxing laws on alcohol purchases, providing a major win to the beer, wine and spirits lobby during the coronavirus pandemic...
Afternoon Brief, March 31
Where Will Wine Sales Come from Next Month?: Despite wineries being shuttered and millions of people sheltering in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have not stopped buying wine, but have increasingly turned to other channels for their wine purchases...
Afternoon Brief, March 30
U.S. Wineries Estimated March Loss More Than $400 Million: A survey conducted by the Wine America trade group found about 10% of U.S. wineries have collectively lost about $40.4 million so far in March - and extrapolated those numbers to assume the entire sector lost more than $400 million this month as a result of the coronavirus pandemic...
Afternoon Brief, March 27
Wine Lessons from a Past Epidemic: The 2003 SARS epidemic hit Chinas wine trade hard. While some companies collapsed, others came out stronger. Ian Ford speaks to Felicity Carter about what he saw...
Afternoon Brief, March 26
Facing Staggering Losses, Napa's Hospitality and Service Sectors Discover Insurers Won't Pay: Business owners across sectors of California's hospitality and service industry have come to a disturbing realization: the substantial losses they've sustained in the wake of a coronavirus-prompted state lockdown are not covered by their insurers...
Afternoon Brief, March 25
Jackson Family Wines: Reading The Off-Premise Surge: Wine sales in the off-premise have been exploding, and Jackson Family Wines has been at the forefront on the producer side—particularly with its Kendall-Jackson and La Crema brands...
Afternoon Brief, March 24
Oregon Wine a Leader in Biodynamics: Even though Oregon only produces one percent of the wines made in the United States, this states accounts for 52% of total vineyard acres that received biodynamic® certification from Demeter USA, a not-for-profit that offers biodynamic certification to farms...
Afternoon Brief, March 23
With Tasting Rooms Closed, Napa's Wine Country Workforce Feels the Sting: As the economic ramifications of shuttered tasting rooms and a hobbled hospitality sector become clearer in Napa Valley, businesses and their employees are facing widespread uncertainty...
Afternoon Brief, March 20
New Napa Ballot Initiative Splits Wine Industry, Set to Repeat Measure C Battle: After the controversial and hotly debated Measure C was narrowly defeated in Napa County, the organization responsible for bringing the measure to the ballot, Napa Growers and Vintners for Responsible Agriculture (NGVRA), is attempting to get a new initiative on the November 2020 ballot...
Afternoon Brief, March 19
Online Alcohol Providers See Major Boost Amid Coronavirus Sheltering: As COVID-19 continues to force Americans to stay at home, online purchases of beverage alcohol are seeing major increases. E-commerce retailer Wine.com reports surging demand over the past week as people continue stocking up on wines and spirits by using home delivery...
Afternoon Brief, March 18
Wineries Get Creative to Reach Customers During Pandemic: As the mandate came down in California and other states to close tasting rooms as part of the prevention of the spread of the Coronavirus through gatherings, wineries were forced to pivot from normal operations to both creative ways of selling wine, but also engaging with their current customer base and figuring how employees would survive...
Afternoon Brief, March 17
Impact of County Shelter-in-Place Orders on Wineries: Seven Bay Area counties in California today issued shelter-in-place orders. The orders require individuals living in these counties to remain in their place of residence and leave only to provide or receive certain essential services or engage in certain essential activities and work for essential businesses and governmental services...
Afternoon Brief, March 16
Governor Newsom Calls for Discontinuation of Winery Tastings & Events: The closure recommendation applies only to winery tasting activities and events. The purchase and pick up of wine and winery business and production operations are not impacted...
