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• IQ Keynote Global Tasting Event: Winemaking Practices Around the World
  A panel of the world's leading winemakers with experience in Napa, France, Argentina, Israel, New Zealand, and South Africa will discuss trials, challenges and rewards in grapegrowing and winemaking. IQ attendees will have the chance to taste and learn, first hand. This year's IQ keynote speakers are Laura Catena, winemaker, Bodega Catena Zapata; Jenny Dobson, managing director, Winetrust; Celia Welch, winemaker, Corra Wines; and Zelma Long, winemaking partner, Vilafonté ...
  
  
• E&J Gallo to Expand Stagecoach Vineyard
  E&J Gallo Winery plans to expand its Stagecoach Vineyard east of Napa by planting an additional 91 acres in vines, according to county records. The company has applied for an erosion control permit to develop the 170-acre parcel into Stagecoach North Soda Canyon Ranch Vineyard ...
  
  
• E. & J. Gallo Winery Unveils "Women Behind the Wine" Empowerment Campaign
  -- E. & J. Gallo Winery, through its Wine Dialogues platform, launched the Women Behind the Wine initiative to support professional development of women in the food and beverage business. This multi-faceted campaign focuses on the advancement and achievements of women in the industry.
  
  
• Gallo's acquisition strategy is gift that keeps on giving for premium wine
  "Seventy per cent of our revenue now comes from brands that did not exist in Gallo 15 years ago," E&J Gallo's head of fine wine for EMEA, Edouard Baijot MW said. Forty per cent of its business is with brands it did not have 10 years ago "We think differently from our competitors ... 30% of its global turnover now is in premium wines, whereas it would only have accounted for 1% 20 years ago." ... That phenomenal turnaround has been seen first in the US where 30% of its sales are now in premiu
  
  
• Third Leaf Wines Acquires Mulderbosch
  Mulderbosch winery, widely considered one of South Africa's most iconic wineries has moved its US distribution to Third Leaf Wines effective April 1, 2019. An investment group led by Third Leaf Partners acquired Mulderbosch at the end of 2018
  
  
• METIS advises Conner Lee Vineyard in sale to Washington Winegrowers
  One of Washington's highly regarded vineyards was acquired by a partnership between Josh Lawrence (of Lawrence Vineyards and Gård Vintners) and Tom Merkle (of Wautoma Springs Vineyard and Wautoma Springs Wines). The new partnership was created specifically to acquire and operate the historic Conner Lee Vineyard, outside of Othello, Washington ...
  
  
• Phantom Creek Estates to Open Summer 2019
  Canada's most anticipated winery sets date for grande opening: introduces private tours and tastings for 2019; winery to to open in 2020.
  
  
• New Winery Opens at Bartholomew Park
  The Frank H. Bartholomew Foundation and Kevin Holt are pleased to announce the opening of Bartholomew Estate Winery on Saturday, April 27 from 11:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
  
  
• Masseto Unveils New Winery
  Italy-based wine brand Masseto unveiled a brand-new winery that brings together stunning design and uncompromised functionality devoted to producing the estate's highly-acclaimed, single-vineyard wine.
  
  
• Tariffs fomenting turmoil in world wine markets
  California is on the front lines of President Donald Trump's unwise trade wars, and the wine industry is under fire. A recent report from the Wine Institute blamed a 25% decline in exports to China largely on retaliatory tariffs
  
  
• Beer, Spirits, & Wine - Packaged Imports Grow +7.00% By Value Over Last Twelve Months Through February 2019, Packaged Exports Decline -8.80%
  Exported bulk wine for the last twelve months grew +19.1% by volume and grew +14.4% by value. Over the last three months volumes grew +32.8% and declined -1.10% by value. ... For details regarding imported and exported wine including detailed category breakdowns across all countries, subscribe to the bw166 Wine - Imports and Exports report.
  
  
• 2018 Crush Report Top 5 Takeaways
  History has a way of repeating itself even if consumer preferences and economic factors are different.
  
  
• Clarice Wine Company: The Next Evolution in How We Wine
  Clarice and Siduri are demonstrably and fascinatingly different in business model. While Siduri is a more traditional winery (direct to customer, wine club and retail sales with international distribution), Clarice is unique - and I mean that in the definitional sense of the word: one of a kind.
  
  
• Inglenook Celebrates 140th Anniversary with Major Cave Expansion
  Francis Ford Coppola, proprietor of Inglenook, is pleased to announce that the historic winery will mark its 140th anniversary by significantly expanding its caves. The major expansion will accommodate the addition of 122 stainless steel fermenting tanks, each dedicated to one of Inglenook's 122 vineyard parcels
  
  
• Sonoma County lost 3,300 people after 2017 wildfires
  The population decline is even more dramatic than estimates released in December by the state Department of Finance, which showed a decline of 2,207 residents - more than any other county in the state - after factoring in deaths and births.
  
  
• Nearly 1,800 fruit pickers-many undocumented-spontaneously walked out of The Wonderful Company's citrus orchards earlier this year
  Stuart and Lynda Resnick, say they've spent $50 to $80 million on philanthropic efforts (not all of it in Central California), and tout themselves as progressive Democrats, but critics have alleged that their philanthropy in the Central Valley only started after a 2011 article about the living conditions of Wonderful farmworkers in the town of Lost Hills
  
  
• Amazon Job Posting Seeks Alcohol Lobbyist
  Amazon is seeking an alcohol lobbyist to work in the Washington, D.C. area, a potential signal that the e-commerce giant is looking to expand its alcohol selling efforts. Among the qualifications for the job is experience in the alcohol industry and at least eight years of lobbying experience.
  
  
• Josh Lawrence, Tom Merkle team up to buy Conner Lee Vineyard
  Conner Lee Vineyard, a historic planting in Washington state that the late Walter Clore helped coordinate in 1980, has been purchased by acclaimed viticulturists Josh Lawrence and Tom Merkle. "This vineyard has been a partnership of families for quite some time," Charlie Conner stated in a news release. "We are excited to be handing it over to two other families who plan to continue it as their own family partnership. We have every confidence in Josh and Tom and their commitment and ability t
  
  
• The newest trend in athletic recovery? Drinking beer
  These 'wellness beer' makers believe a pint can improve your physical fitness
  
  
• Tahoe South Brings the Sizzle with Summer Events
  A record-breaking winter, a full lake and a packed calendar beckons visitors to the Sierra as Tahoe South heats up with summer events.
  
  
• The mezcalifornia movement: Our first commercial agave spirit is on its way
  To the uninitiated it might have looked like a big pile of dirt. But the 80 farmers, distillers and mezcal and Tequila enthusiasts who gathered at Muller Ranch in Woodland (Yolo County) on April 14 knew they were witnessing history.
  
  
• Northwest Wine: Prosser winery wins top honors at annual Cascadia Wine Competition
  After three days of swirling, sipping and spitting, 22 wine professionals from throughout the Pacific Northwest tasted through 1,040 wines for the seventh annual Cascadia International Wine Competition, held earlier this month in Richland.
  
  
• 5 wine gadgets actually worth investing in, according to a sommelier
  according to a wine expert, most of the tools are unnecessary - and overpriced.
  
  
• Great wine route: California's Central Coast
  Jordan Mackay takes a tour down Highway 1 of California's central coast....
  
  
• We taste-tested 8 of Trader Joe's 'Two-Buck Chuck' wines. Here's how they ranked from worst to best.
  each of the grocer's line of signature Charles Shaw wines sells for just $3.99. Though a bit of a misnomer now, the wine's low costs have earned it the nickname "Two-Buck Chuck," as it used to retail for $1.99. But despite the spike in prices, the wine continues to be popular with thrifty wine shoppers
  
  
• How A Digital Negociant Helped Change The U.S. Wine World
  Cameron Hughes Wine purchases juice in quantities from 500 to 20,000 gallons from anonymous sources in California, Washington, Oregon and also internationally-from such countries as New Zealand. They produce 60,000 cases a year, all sold online, in 55 different releases.
  
  
• California soda tax bill shelved, in reprieve for beverage industry
  A bill that would have slapped a statewide tax on sugary drinks in California stalls when the lawmaker who authored it shelves the legislation until next year.
  
  
• Fresno has hundreds of liquor store licenses. A new proposal would cut the number in half
  In a survey taken last year, a quarter of nearly 900 students at Sunnyside said it was "very easy" for someone their age to get alcohol. About one-third said it was "fairly easy." Not too far away at Roosevelt High, there are 35 liquor stores within a 1-mile radius of the school. Most store windows are plastered in advertising for alcohol products.
  
  
• Napa County watershed divide widens
  Napa County is known for the stories behind its world-class wines, and recent public-policy actions on tree removal and permitted rural winery activities are mobilizing groups to have a hand in writing the future story for local business.
  
  
• Houston wine professional Joseph Kemble needs our help
  It's with a heavy heart that I share the following: Joseph Kemble, one of Houston's leading wine professionals, is dying and he needs our help.
  
  
• Labeling bill causing friction among Oregon winemakers
  Senate Bill 111 calls on the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to adopt new rules for enforcing wine labeling standards under state law, while also ensuring wineries pay a $25 per ton grape tax.
  
  
• A wine producer in Tuscany is sponsoring a second year MW student in an effort to give Italy its first Master of Wine
  Famiglia Cecchi, which owns estates across the region including in Chianti Classico, has awarded Gabriele Gorelli, from the Montalcino region of Tuscany, with a bursary to help fund his MW journey
  
  
• Chandon Reports Success With 'China-Adapted' Sparkling Wine
  The fine-tuned sparkling wine Chandon China, Moet Hennessy's sparkling wine operation in Ningxia, has created just for the Chinese market has proven a success and claims to be the "first sparkling wine that can be enjoyed at room temperature," according to the brand's estate manager.
  
  
• Rancho Sisquoc's End-of-the-World Wine
  Winemaker Sarah Holt Mullins Works the Deepest Corners of the Santa Maria Valley
  
  
• English and Welsh sparkling wine sales hit new record
  Sales of English and Welsh sparkling wine rose 6% across the on and off-trade in 2018 compared to the previous year, according to WSTA data released today to coincide with St George's Day.
  
  
• This is how a small B.C. winery goes green
  Paul Brunner is a BC mining engineer whose tale of buying Blue Grouse Estate Winery on Vancouver Island is a courageous one that proves leadership, humility, humour, and perseverance can lead to success for the environment, wine lovers and eventually the winery.
  
  
• How climate change is affecting the Australian wine industry
  What is global warming doing to our wine? It is a question on the minds of many in the Australian industry.
  
  
• Gov. Gavin Newsom hits back at Trump in new fight over who controls California water
  Saying Trump's water plans are scientifically indefensible and would violate the state's Endangered Species Act, the state Department of Water Resources on Friday began drawing up new regulations governing how water is pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the southern half of the state
  
  
• Thinking Outside the Wine Box about Climate Change & the Future of Wine
  Miguel Torres recently warned that the wine industry is not doing enough to fight climate change and there is no doubt that he is right. There is a lot happening, as the recent Porto conference on climate change and wine makes clear. Wine is ahead of most other global industries. But it is not enough
  
  
• One million species risk extinction due to humans: draft UN report
  The accelerating loss of clean air, drinkable water, CO2-absorbing forests, pollinating insects, protein-rich fish and storm-blocking mangroves -- to name but a few of the dwindling services rendered by Nature -- poses no less of a threat than climate change, says the report, set to be unveiled May 6
  
  
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