April, 27, 2015 Michael Mondavi on Challenges vs. Opportunities

(Wines&Vines) - The North Bay Business Journal’s 15th annual Wine Industry Conference on April 24 attracted 470 attendees to the Hyatt hotel in Santa Rosa to hear about wine sales trends from experts. The keynote speaker was Michael Mondavi, son of industry legend Robert Mondavi and co...

April, 27, 2015 Wal-Mart in Showdown With Texas Over Alcohol

(WSJ) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was slow to get into alcohol, but now it is fighting for the right to sell more of it. A prime target is Texas, where the world’s largest retailer has sued the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, saying legal limits on sales of hard liquor are unconstitutional...

April, 27, 2015 From Over 100,000 to 1: Partners Band Together to Beat the European Grapevine Moth

(USDA) - Last fall, the results of trapping for the European Grapevine Moth (Lobesia botrana or EGVM) in California were recounted during a conference call for the partners working to eradicate this invasive insect: zero, zero, zero, one moth. We’ve gone from more than 100,000 EGVM trapped...

April, 27, 2015 HERE’S WHY YOUR ORGANIC WINE IS ACTUALLY REALLY BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

(VinePair) - There is a distinct lack of nuance when it comes to conversations about politics, taxes and … organic agriculture. But even more distressingly, there is a distinct lack of basic consumer comprehension. It seems like everyone has an opinion, and even on a recent weekend getawa...

April, 27, 2015 China now has world's second biggest wine-growing area: trade group

(RTE) - China now has the second-largest wine-growing area in the world after Spain, pushing France into third place, according to figures released today by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. The figures for 2014 showed China had 799,000 hectares (1.97 million acres) of land devote...

April, 27, 2015 Should You Ever Discount Your Wine?

(SVBWine) - I'm betting nobody knows who Thorstein Veblen is. Like this picture, you have to be a little cockeyed to know him; be a Jeopardy Champion, enjoy thumbing through pictures of people who look like axe murderers, or maybe you are an economist with little to do with your free time except re...

April, 26, 2015 What defines ‘old vines,’ anyway, and why are they worth preserving?

(WP) - Mike Officer was heartbroken. One of his favorite zinfandel sources, a vineyard whose oldest vines were just over the century mark, was being torn out and replanted with pinot noir. Modern viticulture and the allure of pinot were triumphing over California history. The loss of that treasu...

April, 26, 2015 California: Debate over dry farming divides Wine Country

(PD) - California’s drought has become an integral part of the conversation around Wine Country. Nothing is immune from discussion, from how many toilet flushes are acceptable to the types of gardens and lawns that are best suited in an era with less available water. As the area’s la...