This year’s outlook for bulk wine supplies of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir in Northern California is promising.  Despite two successive large harvests, demand for both varietals—especially Pinot Noir—remains strong, Clements said, writing in the North Bay Business Journal. The prognosis for Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc isn’t quite so rosy, while the market for Merlot has been and continues to be soft.

·      Even with a sluggish economy at home and abroad, many wine industry executives are remain optimistic about the global economy’s affect on their business, according to wine and spirits news site Harpers. Some 75 percent of the executives set to attend the inaugural Wine Vision conference, to be held in London in late November, said they were “confident” or “very confident” both in the near and long terms. One major concern: government regulation and taxes, cited by 40 percent of the executives as the most important issue facing the industry.

·      Though delayed by the government shutdown in October, as of Nov. 1 there are four new American Viticultural Areas in California. Approved by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, were AVAs in Ballard Canyon in Santa Barbara, Moon Mountain District in Sonoma, and Big Valley District and Kelsey Bench in Lake County.