Weekly Wine News Around the Web

High Court Hears WA Privatization Case: The State of Washington’s highest court in May will hear arguments in a lawsuit intended to nullify a recent voter-approved initiative to privative the state’s liquor business, according to the Seattle Times. Parts of the initiative have already been implemented, according to the report, with private retail sales starting June 1.

Big Direct-to-Consumer Growth Expected Among Younger Set: It’s no secret now, but new research suggests direct-to-consumer wine sales to young wine drinkers will be a huge growth area in the coming years, according to the Napa Valley Register. So-called “Millennials” will drive growth through online sales, resulting in sales of 22 million cases through this particular channel by 2021, research from Wine Intelligence shows.

Strawberries are King in SLO: San Luis Obispo, one of the primary wine regions on the Central Coast of California, experienced a change in crop dominance in 2011, according to this report. For the first time, grapes for wine varietals took a back seat to strawberries as San Luis Obispo County’s No. 1 crop.

Bordeaux on the Brain: Bordeaux vintages are closely watched and the 2011 edition from the famed region has been given the stamp of approval from those in the know, despite some difficulties during the growing season, according to this Decanter update on the vintage. In a related development, new data shows that Americans continue to crave French wine, with French wine and spirits imports to the U.S. totaling $2.3 billion in 2011.