May, 17, 2016 Make Weed Like Wine: It’s time to get sommelier-serious about cannabis.

(Wweek) - In the mid-1960s, just as the majority of Oregon lumber mills began to bottom out, the state's first grapes of pinot noir were being planted by David Lett in the Willamette Valley. A decade later, his wines placed in prestigious competitions in France, and today Oregon vineyards contribut...

May, 17, 2016 Synthetic wine can mimic classic vintages, for a fraction of the time and price

(ZMEScience) - Ava Winery, a start-up based in San Francisco, wants to let you enjoy the best of wines for a fraction of their current cost. To this end, they’ll bypass the costly growing and fermentation processes; in fact, they won’t use grapes at all. Their wines will be synthet...

May, 17, 2016 Cold Snap Damages Wine Grape Crops in Minnesota, Wisconsin

(ABCNews) - Vintners in southern  Wisconsin  and southeastern  Minnesota  are reeling from a weekend cold snap that ruined huge swaths of their grapes. Temperatures dipped below freezing in much of those areas late Saturday and early Sunday, wiping out grape shoots that had e...

May, 17, 2016 Napa’s Far Niente winery gets new majority owner

(SFGate) - GI Partners , a San Francisco private equity firm, has agreed to buy a majority share of Napa’s  Far Niente Wine Estates , which includes the wineries Far Niente, Dolce, Nickel & Nickel, EnRoute and Bella Union. Far Niente’s current owners  Beth Nicke...

May, 17, 2016 California Wine Tax Bill Inches Ahead

(Wines&Vines) - A bill proposed by California congressman and vineyard owner U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson and U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert of Washington state made a step forward May 12 to streamline and reduce excise taxes within the wine industry. A statement from Thompson’s D.C. office said t...

May, 17, 2016 WHAT THE HECK IS OLD VINE WINE? HERE’S EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

(VinePair) - There are many indications of quality on wine labels. In  Burgundy  we see Grand Cru or Premier Cru indicating that these wines came from prized vineyard plots and can fetch a higher price point. In Italy there are words like Riserva and Superiore telling the consumer that th...

May, 17, 2016 Jackson Family Wines Buys Sonoma's Copaín

(WineSpectator) - Deal marks second purchase of a notable Pinot Noir producer in a month for the company. Jackson Family Wines is continuing its recent Pinot Noir buying spree, acquiring the Sonoma winery  Copaín , it announced today. The sale includes the brand and inventory bu...

May, 17, 2016 Why the ‘Wine of the Pope’ Is Worth Rediscovering

(WSJ) - Once the top-selling imported wine in America, Frascati fell out of favor with drinkers as quality declined. But a small group of producers is making this crisp, value-oriented white interesting again. THE SO-CALLED “WINE  of the popes,” Frascati is said to ha...