On WineBusiness.com, Cyril Penn reports on how winemakers are embracing data-driven farming and vineyard automation. “As labor costs increase, grape growers continue to adapt new technology. Some are already doing whatever they can to take labor out of each step of the process of growing wine grapes without negatively affecting quality…Machine vision and artificial intelligence technology already being deployed for orchard and row crops will play a role in the vineyard, driven by farming costs.”

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Jess Lander on the Napa winemaker making straw wine for his brand Lola Wines. “This unorthodox process of dehydrating grapes to concentrate the sugar, acidity and flavors dates back thousands of years to Greece. In January, Lola’s inaugural straw wine release of just 20 cases sold out in a few hours.”

In the Guardian, Justin McCurry explores how a Fukushima winery is working to overcome its past. “Ōse Winery sits in pristine forest carved into a hillside, surrounded by fields brimming with ready-to-pick fruit and veg. On a recent afternoon, a gentle breeze took the sting out of the late summer heat, and the vines were heavy with ripening grapes. As Japanese terroir goes, it is hard to imagine a more idyllic location…Just over a decade after the triple disaster along Japan’s north-east coast, the winery is proof that the region is making a comeback.”

It was a tumultuous build-up to the 2022 reclassification in St-Emilion. In Club Oenologique, Panos Kakaviatos takes the temperature in the Bordeaux region following an announcement that saw top billing for Château Figeac.

The Bordeaux 2022 harvest is looking promising, according to Chris Mercer in Decanter.

Wine Spectator remembers Washington winemaker Andrew Mickel, who died in a seaplane crash near Seattle.

In the Wall Street Journal, Lettie Teague offers tips on how to best read a wine label.