July, 21, 2015 At last: Red wine without the headache

(MW) - We all love a good glass of red wine. But we don’t love the headache that can occasionally follow it. Yes, the “red wine headache” is a real phenomenon . Many medical experts point to histamine, a natural substance created by the body and found in many foods and drinks (...

July, 21, 2015 Drought, heat hurry North Coast winegrapes to early harvest

(NBBJ) - The North Coast winegrape harvest is set to get an early start this year, as Mumm Napa, one of the first pickers of each season, plans to bring its first grapes in this week. Sparkling wine producer Mumm Napa plans to harvest grapes at dawn Wednesday from the 4-acre Game Farm Vineyard in ...

July, 21, 2015 California’s Wine Industry: Just How “Sustainable” Is It?

(CP) - Sonoma County Winegrowers bought an expensive, full-page, color ad, using tax dollars, in the July 12 daily Santa Rosa Press Democrat and in various weeklies, such as the North Bay Bohemian and Sonoma West. The ad ignited a firestorm of protest with angry letters to editors and onli...

July, 21, 2015 Gallo to buy Asti winery, Souverain brand

(PressDemocrat) - E&J Gallo is once again expanding its holdings in Sonoma County, striking a deal to buy the historic Asti winery — one of the largest production facilities in the county — and the Souverain brand from Treasury Wine Estates. The deal represents two very different s...

July, 21, 2015 California Just Fined Some Farmers $1.5 Million for Using Too Much Water

(MJ) - California's Water Resources Control Board proposed a $1.5 million fine today for a farming district's unauthorized use of water—the first such fine in the state's four-year drought. The Board alleged that the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District, a region serving 160 farmers just ea...

July, 21, 2015 Treasury Wine books loss on sale of US winery as Beringer headaches fade

(SMH) - One of the Californian wineries and brands which came into the Foster's Group stable after it shelled out a whopping $2.9 billion to buy the broader Beringer Wine Estates business in 2000 has been sold by Treasury Wine Estates at a loss of US$7.5 million, as chief executiv...

July, 20, 2015 Bill Banning State GMO-Labeling Laws Moves to House Floor

(FSN) - The U.S. House Agriculture Committee has approved a bill that would put an end to state-level laws regulating the labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food. The bill, H.R. 1599, or the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 , would require a national standar...

July, 20, 2015 Hot Weather Threatens Craft Beer Hops

(TDB) - A drought in the US and a heatwave in Central Europe are threatening this year’s hop harvests, putting craft beer production in jeopardy. Over the past month the Yakima Valley in Washington – the top producer of “aroma” hops in the world – has seen temperat...