Editor
Afternoon Brief, June 2nd
Buellton’s Summerland Wine Brands to Liquidate, Close Doors By July 31: Summerland Wine Brands, formerly Terravant Wine Co., laid off or furloughed all but about 40 people on May 25, and plans to liquidate its winemaking equipment and sell the Buellton facility, according to a former employee familiar with operations...
Afternoon Brief, June 1st
US Department of Labor Investigations of Labor Contractors, Vineyard Yield $231K in Penalties, Recover $129K in Back Wages for 353 Agricultural Workers: Home to thousands of winemakers who produce 80 percent of the wine in the U.S., California vineyards also yield their share of unscrupulous employers who profit by taking advantage of migrant and seasonal farmworkers as the harvest season approaches...
Afternoon Brief, May 31st
The Jackson Family Partners with Ensemble Investments, LLC to Purchase Sonoma County’s Vintners Resort: The Jackson family has formed a strategic partnership with Ensemble Investments, LLC (Ensemble), a leading developer, owner and operator of luxury hotels and commercial real estate, to purchase Vintners Resort – an intimate, four-diamond California certified green resort on a vineyard estate – from its founders, the Carano family...
Afternoon Brief, May 30th
Tribe Taps Sonoma County Wineries, Farms to Save Russian River Water: The Pomo Indians' tribal leader is spearheading a major grant-funded, multi-million-dollar, drought-resistant water capture plan. He hopes it will spark interest from Healdsburg-area wineries and farms in a 7,000-acre area to help with the water supply...
Afternoon Brief, May 26th
Newhouse Introduces Legislation to Expand Consumer Choice, Increase Market Access for Local Breweries & Wineries: Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced the USPS Shipping Equity Act alongside Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) and 8 original House co-sponsors...
Afternoon Brief, May 25th
Drinking Preferences: The Decline of Wine: New data shows a paradox in the U.S. wine industry last year with more regular wine drinkers, but consuming in falling volumes...
Afternoon Brief, May 24th
Duckhorn Winery Growth Appealed to Napa County Board of Supervisors: Duckhorn Vineyards winery production and visitor growth requests are on track to receive further Napa County scrutiny, this time from the county Board of Supervisors...
Afternoon Brief, May 23rd
North Bay Farmers Still Concerned About Drought Effects and Heavy Rains: The heavy rain pattern of early 2023 delayed the planting season in some areas and has contributed to rising food prices, while increasing costs for farmers still recovering from high feed prices incurred during the drought...
Afternoon Brief, May 22nd
East Coast Wineries Assessing Losses After Late Frost Turns May Morning into a ‘Bad Dream’: Last week provided another reminder of the risks of farming overall and growing grapevines specifically...
One Wine at a Time: Sustainable Packaging Is Slowly Making Inroads
As consumers become more open to alternative packaging,
companies that push the limits are gaining ground globally.
By Simone Madden-Grey
An ongoing challenge for wine production...
Afternoon Brief, May 19th
Wine Country and the Silicon Valley Bank Hangover: SVB had been the go-to bank for many North Bay wineries—who will tap the barrels now?...
Afternoon Brief, May 18th
2022 Napa County Crop Report Points to Continued Wine Grape Market Recovery from the Fires: Firing up farm officials with prospects of growth, Napa County's crop report released Tuesday shows an increase in the gross value of 2022 agriculture production totaling more than $894 million...
Afternoon Brief, May 17th
Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley Vintner and Investor Brion Wise Acquires Mark Herold Wines: Wise, proprietor of BRION and B. Wise Vineyards, today announces the acquisition of Mark Herold Wines...
Afternoon Brief, May 16th
Bill to Expand Wine, Beer Licenses Opposed by ‘Packies’: The state's package store industry is digging in for another fight against "Big Alcohol" over efforts on Beacon Hill to deregulate the tightly controlled alcoholic beverages market...
Afternoon Brief, May 15th
Wine Industry Sales Symposium (WISS) a Success: Last week’s Wine Industry Sales Symposium, presented by Wine Industry Network (WIN), proved to be an unparalleled platform for learning and networking...