Afternoon Brief, August 9th
Sonoma Valley’s 2022 Grape Harvest Begins: The Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance (SVVGA), a non-profit trade association representing more than 100 wineries and 140 grape growers in the Sonoma Valley, is excited to announce the start of the 2022 wine grape harvest in the Sonoma Valley, with multiple grape picks taking place in both the Los Carneros and Sonoma Valley AVAs (American Viticulture Areas)...
Afternoon Brief, August 8th
Just when the Napa Valley tourism industry seems to be recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, the city of Napa has been hit with an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease…
Afternoon Brief, August 5th
Zero-Dollar Napa Valley Vineyard Deal Highlights Ups, Downs of Handshake Wine Business Deals: It seems easy and cordial: Notable figures and friends in the North Coast wine world agree to a changing of hands of a Napa Valley vineyard at no cost and without a contract...
Afternoon Brief, August 4th
Lucio Tasca d’Almerita, a Champion of Sicilian Wines, Dies at 82: At his family’s winery, he gained global respect for Sicily’s terroir by trying international grapes, then built on that with outstanding native grape wines...
Afternoon Brief, August 3rd
40 Million Bottle Catalan Wine Scam Goes to Court: Six individuals involved with Catalan producer Grupo Reserva de la Tierra are accused of making upwards of €14 million a year from distributing falsely-labelled bottles from 2019 to 2021...
Afternoon Brief, August 2nd
Fetzer Vineyards Adopts the Operating Name Change of Bonterra Organic Estates: The name Bonterra Organic Estates affirms the company’s commitment to regenerative organic farming, responsible business practices and environmental stewardship. The new name applies to the company’s corporate identity, as well as its Mendocino County, Calif., vineyard holdings and winery...
Afternoon Brief, August 1st
Scorching Heat and Wildfires Worry European Winemakers: In wine regions across the continent, spring was dry and summer has brought record temperatures, shrinking the potential harvest and sparking wildfires...
Afternoon Brief, July 29th
Grape Harvest Kicks Off with Early Pick in Sonoma County: Under a light marine layer, the wine grape harvest kicked off in Sonoma County early Friday morning in the Russian River Valley with a season that has started earlier than expected and should yield a smaller crop...
Afternoon Brief, July 28th
Growing Forward Recap: Preparing for the Risk Factors of Smoke & Fire Exposure: On July 27, 2022, Wine Industry Network hosted its most recent Growing Forward webinar, this time focusing on wildfire smoke in the vineyards — and its effect on the resulting wines. It’s a hard topic to accept and address, but one that becomes integral to the industry’s forward progress...
Afternoon Brief, July 27th
Napa’s Vineyard Workers Are Retiring — And the Next Generation Doesn’t Want Their Jobs: A generational shift is occurring within California’s agricultural workforce where the offspring of farmworkers are pursuing alternative, gainful and fulfilling careers — a result of having more opportunities and education than their parents and grandparents did when they arrived in America...
Afternoon Brief, July 26th
Cornell Partners with NYS to Fight the Spotted Lanternfly: The devastating spotted lanternfly's spread to upstate and western New York is not a matter of if, but when, experts say - and Cornell is a key player in helping slow the infestation...
Afternoon Brief, July 25th
ULC’s Draft Shipping Changes Face Intense Industry Backlash: This month, the Uniform Law Commission (ULC; an attorney committee otherwise best known for promulgating the Uniform Commercial Code, required reading for every first-year law student and MBA candidate) sent shock waves through the wine business...
Afternoon Brief, July 22nd
Despite Fires, Wine's Glass Still Half Full: Although the vintage is likely to take a hit, it remains unlikely that the European fires will lead to a global wine shortage...
Afternoon Brief, July 21st
Patent Lawsuit Against Gallo by Vineyard Investigations May Be Nearing End: When scientist/vintner and Vineyard Investigations, Inc. (VII) owner Paul Skinner approached E. & J. Gallo in May 2017 about his new inventions for precision viticulture, he had no idea that would open the door to an extensive, five-year lawsuit and federal court trial to defend his patents for a system of automated crop monitoring maintenance included sensors and emitters for individual plants along with an external data an sensor system...
Afternoon Brief, July 20th
Mexican Beauty Queen, Romanian-Dutch Man Arrested After Chase Across Europe Over $1.7 Million Wine Theft: A former Mexican beauty queen and a Romanian-Dutch accomplice have been arrested in Croatia over the theft of $1.7 million worth of prestige bottles of wine in Spain after a nine-month chase across Europe, police said on Wednesday...
