Laura Ness

How many years does it take to become a full on legend in the wine business? For Jerry Lohr, who grew up in a South Dakota farming family milking the cows twice daily, it took less than 20 to establish J. Lohr Wines as a brand synonymous with quality and value.

If you’re one of the many wineries—or consumers—that have benefited over the years from the ability to ship across state lines and increased access to choice, you can thank James (Jim) Trezise. He’s been on the front lines helping wineries survive in the face of the 3-tier distribution debacle, guaranteeing that wine lovers can get more of the wines they want, and thereby helping grow the US market for boutique wines.

Michael De Loach of Michael De Loach Brands, acts as a broker and marketing consultant for many small-to-medium brands, like Selby Wines, Bucher, Davis Family and Bennet Lane.

According to Paul Mabray of Emetry, wineries are ignoring the importance of digitally engaging both their existing and potential customers at their peril ...

Liz Paquette, Director of Brand and Head of Consumer Insights at Drizly predicts that 2020 is going to bring an explosion of non-traditional packaging variants, with a particular focus on the Ready to Drink (RTD) segment ...

Cheryl Durzy, CEO and founder of Liberation Distribution (LibDib), thinks the time for real consumer choice in the alcoholic beverage industry is about to dawn as consumer behavior, retailer services, and increased 3-tier access trends converge. For wineries this presents an opportunity, but is no slam dunk.

Few people have the vantage point of Carolyn Wente, 4th generation winegrower and CEO of Wente Vineyards in the Livermore Valley.

Bolstering Grapevines to Handle the Effects of Climate Change: BluVite (pronounced bloo veetay) was developed in Italy by BluAgri about 10 years ago to help grape growers deal with the inevitability of climate change. Enartis USA began trialing it here in the US in 2018.

What Part of Reality Are You Missing? Augmenting Smart Packaging - What are customers looking for in wine packaging that most wineries are ignoring or missing at this point? Simply put, it’s the story. Says Peter Oberdorfer, founder and President of Tactic ...

Third generation grape grower, John Saini and his sons, Brian and Mike, of Saini Farms, wear their farming hearts humbly on their sleeves. There’s little doubt they spend their lives tending to 300 acres of land that has been a precious part of the family, going back to 1917...

As we eagerly anticipate the 2019 Sonoma Wine Auction, to be held September 19—21, we thought it would be illuminating to learn a little more about this year’s co-chairs, Gina Gallo and Chris Jackson, who happen to be from two of the most influential, long term Sonoma wine families.  They also happen to be the two largest landowning families in terms of vineyards.

By Laura Ness Mudita Wines almost didn’t enter the 2018 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge. “This win almost didn’t happen,” says Mudita owner, Carol...

After a brief hiatus, the Sunset International Wine Competition—the one competition that truly reflects the unique character of The West—is back, and in very capable hands.

Jim Rickards grew up in San Francisco, a city kid. But he always knew he had the farming gene. “When I got out of the military after Vietnam, I did three things: grew my hair, grew my mustache and got out of Dodge,” he says. “I got into the cattle business and was looking for my home ranch.

The North Coast Wine Challenge is the only competition where we truly focus on the Best of the Best. Only wines rating 90+ points are awarded gold medals and they are the only wines that are eligible to move on to the 'Best Of' Category.