Wines & Vines back issues from December 2008:
Arm yourself with information: three days at the Unified Symposium will prepare you for 2009.(EDITORS LETTER)
Dec 01, 2008; ... I am finishing this column Nov. 5, the day that this issue of Wines & Vines goes to the printer and the day after Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. It remains to be seen what the Obama administration will mean for the wine industry, but it's already clear that 2009 ...
A jewel of an initiative.(READERS' MAIL)(Letter to the editor)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Hudson Cattell's article on the Amethyst Initiative (Wine East Editor's Perspective, October 2008) should be read and supported by everyone in the wine business. Some industry leaders (not Robert Mondavi) sold us on accepting the 21-year-old legal drinking age to avoid a warning label--oh, ...
Alternative opinion.(READERS' MAIL)(Letter to the editor)
Dec 01, 2008; ... A few comments on Alan Goldfarb's article regarding oak alternatives (Oak Alternatives Go Mainstream, October 2008): Our company, Perryville Stave, has made barrel staves since 1946 (four generations) and has made toasted chips for 15 years or so. Currently we employ 22 people, cut enough ...
Grants for grapes?(READERS' MAIL)(Letter to the editor)
Dec 01, 2008; ... I just read the article concerning the Texas shortage of fruit in the wine industry (winesandvines.com Headlines, Sept. 9, 2008). We are assisting the Louisiana wine industry to address a shortage of available fruit, as well as teaching students how to grow crops. It's a joint effort ...
Pest potential in Oregon.(NEWS BYTES)
Dec 01, 2008 ... A scale insect discovered in an Oregon vineyard in September was determined by scientists not to be the harmful and highly invasive vine mealybug. Although the exact species is yet to be defined by DNA testing, it was most likely a ground or obscure mealybug. These other ...
Horse Heaven vineyard auction.(NEWS BYTES)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Approximately 680 acres in Washington's Horse Heaven Hills AVA were set for auction Nov. 6, including 220-acre Alder Creek Vineyard and 460-acre Windy Ridge Vineyard. They've been subdivided into 19 parcels of 20 to 80 acres. Up to 445 acres of vineyard are possible on the ...
Deal for Bacchus Capital.(NEWS BYTES)
Dec 01, 2008 ... The first transaction for Bacchus Capital Management, an investment firm founded to focus on the wine industry, involves a negociant, Cameron Hughes Wine of San Francisco. The financing for fast-growing Cameron Hughes takes the form of a second-lien, five-year loan. Cameron Hughes ...
Pros to teach tasting room management: Sonoma State certificate program draws seasoned veterans.(DECEMBER NEWS)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Rohnert Park, Calif. -- The latest offering from Sonoma State University's rapidly expanding Wine Business Program is a Tasting Room Management Certificate. Students must complete eight of nine available half-day courses, taught by highly regarded industry specialists, between ...
B.C. wine authority up and running.(DECEMBER NEWS)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Content not available due ...
How bills will affect wineries: governor signs legislation about tastings, pests and sales, mostly pro-industry.(DECEMBER NEWS)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Sacramento, Calif. -- Effective Jan- 1, bills passed by the California state legislature and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger prior to Oct. 1 will become law. At least seven impact the wine industry directly, recapped below: * Assembly Bill (AB) 2004, allows visitors to ...
Struggle for relevance: New Copia director seeks solvency at Napa center.(DECEMBER NEWS)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Napa, Calif. -- Copia, the Center for Wine, Food & the Arts, opened during the dot-com meltdown, just after Sept. 11, 2001. Seven years later, the institution remains troubled and is considering steps as drastic as filing for bankruptcy to escape its crushing debt. In October, ...
Wine villages draw traffic: Washington wineries use cluster effect to attract visitors and manage costs.(DECEMBER NEWS)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Content not available due ...
Damskeys open tasting room.(CALIFORNIA)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Winemaker Kerry Damskey and his wife Daisy opened Terroirs Artisan Wines: Damskey & Co. in downtown Geyserville, Sonoma County. Modeled on an artist's atelier, the facility ...
Fortified wine group funds scholarships.(CALIFORNIA)
Dec 01, 2008 ... The Sweet and Fortified Wine Association (SFWA) established a scholarship program for graduate and undergraduate students in viticulture and enology at the University of California, Davis; Fresno State and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Preference will be given to ...
New winemaker at Phelps.(CALIFORNIA)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Joseph Phelps Vineyards, St. Helena, promoted Ashley Hepworth to wine-maker, overseeing all red and white winemaking at ...
Staff changes at Clos Du Val.(CALIFORNIA)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Clos Du Val Wine Co. Ltd., Napa, is going through more personnel changes. The 65,000 case per year winery promoted Debra Eagle to general manager. Eagle joined the winery in April as vice president of marketing and will continue to oversee that area of ...
Oregon board launches trip planner.(NORTHWEST)(Brief article)
Dec 01, 2008 ... The Oregon Wine Board has added an interactive trip planner to its Oregon Wine Explorer (explorer.oregonwine.org). The "My Trip" tab allows potential visitors to seek out wineries, organize stops, create pinpoint maps and driving directions, and add dining and lodging ...
David Lett dies Oct. 9.(NORTHWEST)(Obituary)(Brief article)
Dec 01, 2008 ... David Lett, a pioneer of Oregon's fine wine industry, died at home at age 69. Known to some as "Papa Pinot," Lett was widely considered the father of the Oregon industry. He planted the first Burgundian grape varieties in the Willamette Valley in 1965, and with his wife Diana founded The ...
Illinois wine label wins award.(NORTHWEST)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Purgatory Cellars/ White Owl Winery, Birds, III, (15,000 cases per year), received an Award of Excellence at the Print Excellence and Knowledge (PEAK) Awards. It was honored for the ...
Texas association has new director.(NORTHWEST)(Carol Kull has been appointed at Wine and Grape Growers Association)(Brief article)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Carol Kull was chosen as executive director of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, replacing long-term director Dacota Haselwood, who will continue to handle legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts and advise the board on its new ...
Homemade in a strip mall.(NORTHWEST)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Homemade Wines opened its 1,000-case-per-year operation in an Odessa, Texas, strip mall. Owner ...
Tennessee wine laws still in conflict.(EAST)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Although an appeals court in October upheld the state's right to ban direct wine shipments from both Tennessee and out-of-state wineries, other aspects of the law were returned to district court for rehearing, including a residency requirement for winery licensees; a rule limiting winery ...
Two new wineries in North Carolina.(EAST)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Weathervane Winery opened near Welcome, N.C. Owned by Miranda and Sid Proctor Jr., it has two acres planted to Chambourcin and Traminette grapes and plans eventually to expand to 5.5 acres of vineyards. Visit weathervanewinery.com for information. In Yadkin County, Gene and Pam Reneger ...
G3 opens flexible printing plant.(SUPPLIERS)
Dec 01, 2008 ... G3 Enterprises Inc., Modesto, Calif., opened a new production facility in Ukiah, Calif., in September ....
Cummins promoted at Nomacorc.(SUPPLIERS)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Nomacorc, Zebulon, N.C., producer of alternative wine closures, promoted Jay Cummins to vice president of global sales. Previously, he was director of sales for ...
Collaborate with bottle producer.(SUPPLIERS)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Saint-Gobain Containers, Muncie, Ind., introduced its Vision4Glass process, which facilitates communication between the package designer and customer ...
Compli releases DIY shipping software.(SUPPLIERS)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Compli Inc. has opened a new Napa office and launched eCompli, a do-it-yourself software package allowing wineries to complete beverage licenses, ...
Criveller updates website.(SUPPLIERS)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Criveller Co., Niagara Falls, Ontario-based supplier of innovative processing and packaging solutions for the wine industry, retooled its website, ...
Vivo! printer picks up speed.(SUPPLIERS)
Dec 01, 2008 ... QuickLabel Systems released a higher-speed version of its Vivo! short-run digital color label printer. The new model prints at ...
Online shipping seminar draws hundreds.(SUPPLIERS)
Dec 01, 2008 ... More than 650 people from 38 states registered for the Direct Shipping Online Seminar presented Oct. 16 by Ship Compliant, Wine Institute, FedEx and ...
Reimers marks a century.(SUPPLIERS)
Dec 01, 2008 ... Reimers Electra Steam Inc., Clear Brook, Va., is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. It manufactures electric ...
Robert Mondavi Institute opens: UC Davis unveils facilities to house two departments.(Faces & Forums)(Brief article)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Davis, Calif. -- A group of lawmakers, faculty and donors gathered Oct. 10 at the newly constructed Robert Mondavi Institute for Food and Wine Science (RMI), to celebrate the grand opening of the site. Speaking to the hundreds of donors who had gathered for the event, University ...
What to expect at Unified: the industry's biggest annual event Jan. 27-30 will focus on the bottom line.(UNIFIED PREVIEW)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Every January, the annual Unified Wine & Grape Symposium tin Sacramento, Calif., pivots around a Wednesday morning session on the state of the industry. With a torrent of PowerPoint slides full of charts and numbers--acreage totals, import volumes, the rise and fall of this or that grape ...
Farming for aromas: connecting the dots between viticultural methods and wine's sensory attributes.(UNIFIED PREVIEW)
Dec 01, 2008; ... The all-day program that concludes the upcoming Unified Symposium is billed as an Aroma Symposium, which probably conjures up an image of endless lists of volatile compounds and a tour through their chemical precursors and sensory thresholds. But not this time: This symposium is all about ...
Solid, balanced, swaying? In an uncertain economy, speakers see three states of being for 2009.(UNIFIED PREVIEW)
Dec 01, 2008; ... It sounds like a riddle: What's solid at one end, tentatively balanced in the middle and swaying uncertainly at the other end? It's not the Golden Gate Bridge during a seismic event, but the wine industry economy at the beginning of 2009. Headline speakers slated for the Unified ...
Tasting room profits: session examines how to improve sales despite credit crunch.(UNIFIED PREVEIW)(Financial report)
Dec 01, 2008; ... During difficult economic times, a winery tasting room can either tighten its belt and try to get by, or it can take steps to contribute more to its winery's success. Craig Root, a well-known consultant to tasting rooms, will moderate a seminar on how to do the latter, "Getting Your ...
The forest or the trees? French coopers emphasize grain rather than origin of oak.(WINE MAKING)
Dec 01, 2008; ... 'We don't work on a forest, we work on the size of the grain--that's a revolution," Nicholas Mahler-Besse of Tonnellerie Radoux told Wines & Vines in early October at his cooperage near Cognac, France. His words echoed those of several cooperage spokesmen across France, including the ...
Going mobile: wineries outsource bottling to save space, time and capital.(WINEMAKING)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Just as grapes don't stop ripening during a credit crunch, wine needs to be bottled regardless of whether a premium bottling line is in a winemaker's budget. For winery owners wary of investing their hard-earned capital in machinery that may be used only a few months out of the year, ...
Better fit for the vineyard: tractor manufacturers introduce narrow models, new features.(GRAPEGROWING)
Dec 01, 2008; ... The numerous introductions of tractors especially useful for vineyards in recent years aren't just a coincidence. Tractor manufacturers are paying more attention to vineyard applications as they realize it's a profitable market, and some of the biggest names in farm equipment have ...
Maryland makes money available to grapegrowers: state to invest up to $4 million each year to cultivate vineyards.(Wine East)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Annapolis, Md. -- The Maryland wine and grape industry is still small, but a statewide organization, the Maryland Agricultural & Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) wants to expand the state's commercial vineyard acreage. The new Vineyard Planting Loan ...
Getting power from pomace: grape waste will yield methane gas to generate electricity.(Wine East)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Niagara-on-the Lake, Ontario -- Each year wineries face the problem of what to do with the pomace crush generates. Vincor Canada has a solution that will help the environment by providing an alternative energy source to a local company and contribute to the wine producer's bottom line. ...
Dr. Frank fast-tracks a Riesling clone: cooperation among New York, USDA and Cornell clears Germany's N90 clone in two years.(News)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Hammondsport, N.Y. -- Dr. Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars celebrated the official release of the Riesling clone N90 on Oct. 9, culminating in an unusually rapid deployment of an imported grapevine valued for its winter hardiness and aromatics. How did the winery bring all the ...
Biologist creates herbicide-resistant grape: improved chancellor withstands agent commonly used on row crops in Midwest and eastern states.(News)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Urbana, Ill. -- According to agricultural census records from 1900, Illinois had 5,471 acres planted to grapes that year; by 2007, however, the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association reported the total at just 1,083. Besides Prohibition, the dramatic drop-off in acreage was ...
Improving grape quarantine policy.(Editor's Perspective)(Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars )
Dec 01, 2008; ... On Oct. 9, Fred Frank, president of Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars in Hammondsport, N.Y., hosted a ceremony officially releasing Riesling clone N90 from quarantine. That this was no ordinary release was underscored by the presence of two high-ranking officials from USDA's ...
Wine in print: an improved work on Texas grape breeder T.V. Munson.(Grapegrowing)
Dec 01, 2008; ... Grapegrowers east of the Rockies have a long tradition of breeding new varieties to meet the environmental conditions they face. One of the best-known nurserymen in the late 19th century was Thomas Volney Munson, who created more than 300 grape varieties at his nursery in Denison, Texas, ...
What's new in research: researchers study fruit maturation components in Syrah, Merlot, Muller-Thurgau.(Grapegrowing)
Dec 01, 2008; ... The early varieties are being picked as I write this column. The Bordeaux red varieties appear to be holding up well, but it is not a stellar year for tight-clustered varieties, and there is widespread cluster breakdown due to a combination of sour rot and Botrytis. With this in mind, this ...
Winemakers heated about fermentation.(Inquiring Winemaker)
Dec 01, 2008; ... I got interested in the issue of red wine fermentation temperature a few months back during a casual conversation with Julie Lumgair, wine-maker at Windsor Oaks Vineyards in California's Russian River Valley. She mentioned a preference for keeping the peak temperature for most reds down to ...
Paradise lost, and found, at super store.(Morgan & Moore)
Dec 01, 2008; ... When late August temperatures in both Napa and Sonoma counties hovered around 100[degrees]F for two weeks, all the technology in the world couldn't help certain panicked growers and winemakers who skipped town for Labor Day weekend only to return to a "Brix nightmare." What were they ...
Calendar.(wineries)(Conference news)(Calendar)
Dec 01, 2008 ... DECEMBER Dec. 1 & 2 The Green Wine Summit, Santa Rosa, Calif. For details and registration, visit greenwinesummit.com. Dec. 4 Napa Valley Vineyard Technical Group and UC Cooperative Extension Planting Material Workshop, Napa, Calif. For details and registration, ...
Was prohibition about drinking or taxes?(Viewpoint)
Dec 01, 2008; ... On April 16, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. A vital part of Wilson's plan was a food control bill designed to direct vital food materials to aid in the war effort. The Anti-Saloon League and temperance movement that had been agitating against ...