(via grapefriend.com)

A week after Hurricane Sandy, the bad news continues to roll in.  The Red Hook Winery in Brooklyn may have suffered “a total loss.”

Meanwhile, retailers may see a storm-related spike in October sales as people stockpiled beer and wine in advance of the Superstorm.

Those wine merchants in the storm’s path, however, suffered substantial damage.

Wall Street investment managers weathered the storm by baby-killing First Growth Bordeaux.  How uplifting!

In news that’s easier to stomach, Will Lyons attempts to offer advice on wine-and-pizza pairing in the Wall Street Journal Europe: “The best way to enjoy pizza is at a little local pizzeria overlooking the Bay of Naples, washed down with whatever the restaurant serves, in all likelihood a local Aglianico, a dark-red wine with high acidity and high tannins.”

Jon Bonné suggests shopping early for your holiday wines, and recommends looking to Rhone-style whites.

Stéphane Vivier overcame an early rejection for an internship with DRC to start his own winery in Napa; Alder Yarrow tells the story.

From Wines & Vines, a fascinating piece on the efforts of “well-known vineyard and winery investor Richard Wollack” to raise $100 million from Chinese investors to purchase and manage high-end California vineyards.

In Wine Spectator, Mitch Frank remembers Serge Renaud, “Father of the French Paradox.”

“Were it not for Grgich’s deft hand and refined palate for chardonnay, who knows how and when Napa Valley winemaking would have achieved its rightful place in wine world’s hierarchy?” In the Napa Valley Register, L. Pierce Carson writes about “Like the Old Vine,” a new documentary about Mike Grgich.

Melissa Sutherland Amado writes about Kerners, one of the “wines that made [her] life forever different.”

Finally, Tim McNally asks if wine labels like “If You See Kay,” “Sassy Bitch,” and “Fat Bastard” cross the line?