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Winebusiness.com - Daily News Links

• Breaking: WineShipping Combines Business With Pack n' Ship Direct
  Big news in the world of Direct to Consumer Wine - WineShipping LLC is merging with Pack n' Ship Direct, creating the nation's largest direct to consumer logistics provider with a nationwide footprint and ability to provide ground overnight delivery nationwide. "Joining the two companies together positions us in a unique way, by having the network and capability to provide the types of services people have come to expect in when they shop and buy things online," WineShipping CEO Eric Lewis said
  
  
• Crisis Sales Surge is "Stunning" but Not Sustainable
  While the numbers may be similar to what's seen during a holiday, no one is partying. The sales have been described as "pantry stocking" by shoppers stuck at home because of shelter in place orders issued by state authorities to slow the spread of the Covid-19 illness. High-priced Champagne was the one wine type that hasn't seen a significant increase. "Celebrations might not fit the current environment right now"
  
  
• Winners Announced for Sixth Annual California Green Medal: Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Awards
  J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines - Bonterra Organic Vineyards - Clif Family Winery - Pisoni Family Vineyards
  
  
• Accolade Wines sells Geyser Peak wine brand
  The company closed the tasting room last year as it sought a buyer for its U.S. brands. The Geyser Peak winery has had multiple owners over the years, including the storied late businessman Henry Trione of Santa Rosa, who bought it from Stroh Brewing Co. in 1982 and helped boost its sales
  
  
• Small-business relief loan program rushes to launch, but Wine Country lenders seek answers before jumping in
  Faced with the reality of branch phone lines and call centers already overwhelmed with inquiries from entrepreneurs desperate for Small Business Administration loans, a number of North Bay banks are delaying the start for accepting loan applications for the federal government's promised $349 billion in loan guarantees as part of the COVID-19, $2.2 trillion package
  
  
• ABC Regulatory Relief - Round Two - What it Means
  The ABC added four more categories of relief: 1) relief from the prohibition on using the term "free delivery" in advertising. 2) Extension of Wholesaler Delivery Hours to Midnight 3) Tolerance for distilled spirits manufacturers providing high proof spirits for disinfection purposes 4) the ABC temporarily suspended enforcement of prohibitions against "things of value" and "free goods" as applied to "promotional donations in which a manufacturer, wholesaler, or other supplier-type licensee ad
  
  
• COVID-19's Impact on Beverage Alcohol M&A Activity  
  "At the moment, most buyers find themselves in a challenging position to pursue deals as they address financial disruptions to their own sales channels, while also trying to understand the scope and timing for economic recovery.  Similarly, most sellers are consumed with stabilizing their business operations and, thus, electing to step back from pursuing transactions until there is evidence of a return to normalcy in the market"
  
  
• Coronavirus complicates California wildfire preparation; raises worry over evacuation shelters
  Although top emergency officials say they are hopeful that the spread of COVID-19 will taper off by the time serious fire weather arrives in the fall, the outbreak has already forced departments to put a hold on large training exercises, cancel controlled burns and delay inspections of fire-prone properties in Los Angeles.
  
  
• Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits Proof™ Platform and Drizly Can Help Local Beverage Alcohol Retailers Quickly Move Online
  Proof™, available at SGProof.com, is a B2B ecommerce site that is currently available in 23 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. To learn more, Southern Glazer's customers can contact their Sales Consultants or visit about.sgproof.com
  
  
• California delays sales tax payments for small businesses amid coronavirus lockdown
  businesses with $5 million in sales or less will get up to a year to give the state up to $50,000 in sales taxes. It's essentially an interest-free loan
  
  
• Wineries Pull Out All the Stops for COVID-19 Relief
  From boutique operations to major conglomerates, wine and spirits producers are raising big bucks for coronavirus victims, often in creative ways-with help from some famous friends
  
  
• Constellation Brands Reports Fiscal Year and Fourth Quarter 2020 Results and Fiscal Year 2021 Outlook
  Generates Record Operating and Free Cash Flow Results ... Beer Business Delivers Double-Digit Operating Income Growth and Import Depletion Growth of 8% for FY20
  
  
• Online wine sales surge, but you can still (safely) support your local shop - The Washington Post
  The coronavirus pandemic is changing the way we interact, shop and, well, practically everything about the way we live, at least temporarily. But will these changes last? As we get accustomed to ...
  
  
• In Oregon wine, pandemic tells a tale of two business models
  A to Z Wineworks and Walter Scott Wines cope with the coronavirus crisis.
  
  
• Prepare For Those Four Cups At The Seder With Kosher For Passover Wine And Liquor
  Passover is a holiday deeply steeped in tradition and ritual, and among the ceremonial meals and strict dietary rules, there's a whole lot of wine
  
  
• Parent company to Gordon Biersch, Rock Bottom fires 18,000 employees
  The parent company behind Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Rock Bottom and other restaurant chains has fired 18,000 employees this week
  
  
• This San Francisco Michelin star restaurant converts its dining room into a wine shop
  The wine shop debuted on March 26, and since then they've kept an inventory of 100 cases on the shelves, which is restocked daily. Green and Jaime Pinedo, wine and beverage director at Bacchus Management Group, said they were both thrilled and surprised with the positive feedback they've received from customers.
  
  
• Singer Pink says she had COVID-19, gives $1M to relief funds
  She announced she's donating $1 million across two coronavirus-related relief funds, with $500,000 each going to the Temple University Hospital Fund in Philadelphia and the COVID-19 response fund run by the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles. The Temple University donation honors the singer born Alecia Moore's mother, Judy Moore, who worked at the hospital's cardiomyopathy and heart transplant center for nearly two decades
  
  
• Why wineries will be offering consumers great deals well beyond the coronavirus lockdown
  The wine choices consumers now have available are greater than ever, and prices are about as low as they've been in decades. And prices are continuing to drop!
  
  
• Heineken halts production in Mexico as nation shuts down over coronavirus
  Dutch brewer Heineken said on Friday that it will suspend production and distribution from its seven plants in Mexico, in response to the government's decision to halt nonessential economic activity to contain the new coronavirus
  
  
• Facing a Season Without Restaurant Sales, Independent Winemakers Worry About What's Next
  Winemakers are pivoting to sell directly to consumers, but selling bottles now is just one of their concerns
  
  
• Only You Can Save the Wine World
  There will be wine after Covid-19 has passed, but will it be the type of wine we love?
  
  
• Help us raise money for the Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation
  Wine Country for Restaurants organizing wine donations for an online auction on WineBid to help support RWCF. Proceeds from the auction* are going to Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation COVID-19 Relief Fund (RWCF)
  
  
• How you can help Washington's wineries while staying in
  Washington wine is good for you because it relieves stress. Set the dinner table, whip up a homey meal, light the candles and enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. Hell, put on your party dress or shirt and make it really special. The mood will lighten with smiles all round
  
  
• West Coast Wineries Face Uncertain Future
  Online sales are up and federal aid could help, but one report estimated $400 million in coronavirus-related losses for U.S. wineries last month
  
  
• Multiple San Francisco restaurants vandalized during stay-at-home order
  On Wednesday, Mitchell's Ice Cream shared that someone attempted to enter the store by taking a blowtorch to the front door. The ice cream company remains closed due to the city's shelter-in-place order, but has provided a list of stores where its ice cream is available.
  
  
• Raise a Glass at These Boozy Virtual Drinking Parties
  Digital gatherings hosted by Front Range restaurants, bars, breweries, distilleries, wineries, and more are encouraging social connection from a distance.
  
  
• Napa restaurant owners faced with 'gut-wrenching' decisions to survive
  "We really had no choice but to lay people off. There was no income flow, and all these other bills are still going to be there," Salyer said. "We had to make that decision in order to be able to get to the other side to try and help these people after this is all over."
  
  
• Napa Valley restaurants offer options for take-out and delivery
  it is an incomplete list and that changes are happening daily. Send items to Sasha Paulsen at spaulsen@napanews.com or fill out the form here: napavalleyregister.com/forms/restaurantguide.
  
  
• Ken Frank's Michelin-star team at La Toque cooks for Napa's homeless
  The counters in the kitchen of Ken Frank's Michelin-star Napa restaurant La Toque were lined with bins of fresh kale, strawberries, fennel and lettuce. Frank and his staff of three were about to begin making salads. At noon, they would deliver their creations to their newest customers: the South Napa Homeless Shelter.
  
  
• There's no real precedent for the coronavirus effect on the economy - and that could be a good thing
  The last time a major pandemic struck the United States - the Spanish Flu in 1918 - was years before the federal government even began calculating a national unemployment rate, let alone all the other detailed measurements it now conducts on the health of the US economy. For economists, that dearth of hard information and history leaves them floundering as they try to gauge how deep and long the looming coronavirus recession will be. But just as the unprecedented nature of the crisis is st
  
  
• Make your own wine in the Instant Pot: A step-by-step guide
  What better way to use your electric pressure cooker than making vino in your kitchen? Here's how to do it.
  
  
• Senior hour at the liquor store? Now happening in Mecklenburg County.
  Jason Hughes, CEO of the Mecklenburg County ABC Commission, said starting April 7, 10 liquor stores will open 9 to 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays for people age 65 and older to shop "to help them maybe feel a little safer coming in. It's a similar move most grocery stores have made to give seniors and the most vulnerable time to shop to stop the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.
  
  
• Pa. bar accused of pouring drinks despite coronavirus closing orders loses liquor license: report
  As WNEP-TV reports, Lacey's Bar and Grill in Nanticoke, Luzerne County, had its liquor license revoked this week.
  
  
• Monongalia County limits liquor sales to WV residents only
  The order, issued on Saturday from the Monongalia County Health Department restricts sales of spirits and hard liquors to West Virginia residents only. The order also limits customers to three items per purchase
  
  
• Area wineries adapt to new coronavirus stipulations
  Curbside pickup and shipping available while tasting rooms are closed
  
  
• 10 wines to sip while hunkered down in April (photos)
  
  
  
• Winery at Versailles and Belle of Dayton collaboration will benefit health-care workers, first responders
  The owner of a winery in Darke County is joining forces with the owners of a distillery in Dayton to turn a thousand gallons or so of excess wine into hand sanitizer
  
  
• Wine Press Northwest magazine names Lewiston winery Clearwater Canyon Cellars winery of the year
  
  
  
• Delaware police are pulling over Pennsylvania drivers, as some cross the border to buy alcohol
  At Total Wine & More in Claymont, just south of the Pennsylvania border, police on Friday were turning away customers from Pennsylvania, where liquor stores remain closed and online sales have been plagued with problems due to "overwhelming demand."
  
  
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