You made it through another week! Hope you have something amazing to pour in the glass to celebrate. Me? I’ve got so many bottles of wine after doing some conjunctive tastings along with my Portugal and Greece studies this past week. (To be released in the coming weeks). In case you missed my Italian notes: DipWSET Theory and Tasting—Piemonte , DipWSET Theory and Tasting—Valpolicella , DipWSET Theory—Southern Italy , and DipWSET Personal Theory and Tasting—Gavi di Gavi.

Below I’ve got this week’s round up of wine industry news. A few highlights—looks like there’s some new data/research surrounding the loss of smell due to Covid; John Fox, who ran the world’s largest wine Ponzi scheme, is officially out of prison (hold on to your magnums!); we’ve got Argentinian wine aged under the sea, the latest on Brexit, and the seemingly endless tariff wars between Australia and China.

And for for all my wine grape growing friends or those interested in learning more about California viticulture: I’ll be leading a panel discussion on regenerative agriculture at the upcoming Vineyard and Grower Conference. Other sessions include a look at the CA Crush Report and a deep dive into the latest research on smoke taint. Find out more and sign up here. I’ve also included some additional details below.

That’s all from me for now. Happy weekending. Cheers.

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Hello my friends and happy Valentine’s Day weekend—and/or President’s Day weekend for those of you who may be celebrating with a day off. I’ve got loads of news for you below, so much so I had to categorize it between local (California), international, pandemic-related stuff, and a section I like to call ‘just for fun.’ Of course, keep scrolling to get to the Blogs, lots of great independent inside and fun educational posts this week as well.

For those keeping an eye out for my WSET posts, I assure you they’re coming. It’s a fine line between writing about my studies and, well, actually studying. A quick sneak peek to where we’ll be headed next: Italy, Greece, and Portugal. So get your palates ready.

Stay safe and healthy out there and don’t hesitate to connect with me directly, or of course on any of my social channels. Cheers.

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Here’s my weekly roundup of wine and food—and this week travel—news. Though not all articles included are about the pandemic, I have to admit that, regardless of what’s on this list, the biggest news going into this weekend is certainly how the COVID pandemic continues to affect our lives.

This week is Thanksgiving in the US. I implore you, whatever you decide to do—be safe, take care of yourself, take care of your families and friends, take care of your fellow humans.

Thank you.

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There’s a lot going on this week. Between the nail-biting presidential election, the continuously increasing numbers of COVID-related cases and deaths, and all the implications this has on our industry, the news is just…overwhelming.

Not least of which is the ongoing Court of Master Sommeliers Americas scandal involving several female wine professionals who have been sexually abused by their male superiors. Both the CMS-A and GuildSomm have issued separate apologies and promises for internal investigation and reconstruction; female sommeliers who have chosen to stay associated with the CMS-A (note: there are those who have chosen to leave the court) have issued their own apology and promise to help promote change from within the organization; and there is even an online petition you can sign to help move the process forward. But, as wine-searcher reports, the effects of these women’s testimonials along with the outpouring of media attention this scandal has garnered are just drops of water in a vast ocean—a real solution, any implementation of real change (not to mention punishment for those guilty of these crimes) may be yet far away.

It is the responsibility of our industry as a whole to make a difference. Whatever sector you’re in, whatever level your position is within your company, let us all be aware of how we treat one another, how our colleagues are being treated by each other. And if you see something, say something, do something. We all have a human right to be treated like, well, humans.

Cheers, my friends. Be safe, be well, be healthy, be kind.

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Happy weekend, my friends. Let’s take a look at some of the headlines in wine this past week…

Remember how the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee released a report significantly changing the recommend daily alcoholic intake, stating men should not consume more than two drinks per day and women should only consumer one? (Yeah…right…) Well, the NAWR has something to say about that. And if that doesn’t put a damper on things, it looks like tariff drama continues and its affecting wine businesses all over the world. (They really want to make it hard for us to get a drink around here, eh?)

It looks like COVID’s latest wine victim is the ancient art of food-treading. Wine Spectator reports that more and more Port producers are turning to mechanical means to make their wines this vintage.

Over in Russia there seems to be something of a wine boom, according to Wine Intelligence’s latest report. The younger generation wants to steer clear of their parents’ and grandparents’ typical imbibes (vodka) and want something “modern” and “lower in alcohol,” which for them means—wine. Which is funny, because my cohort Jim Gordon wrote a short piece for Wine Enthusiast saying that to attract U.S. Millennials, wine producers need to emphasize the health benefits of wine on their labels, calling out organic, biodynamic practices and even providing clear tasting notes. (Seems like we’re going to need bigger labels…) I have thoughts on that. What are yours?

Oh yeah! NOT wine: Sonoma has officially planted its first legal hemp farm. Not something I’m into personally, but kind of interesting how things evolve. Curious if this trend will continue.

Interesting stuff—and there’s tons more. So scroll through, and don’t forget to check out the Blogs for some independent insight.

Stay well, stay healthy. Cheers.

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