September, 11, 2013 Congress Hits the Brakes on Immigration Reform

(BW) - This week, advocates of comprehensive immigration reform will stage events in Washington, where they’ll try to make news by getting arrested. Next week, they’ll make noise outside the D.C. offices of corporations that give big money to Republicans and are believed to have sway ov...

September, 11, 2013 New cell component important to tea and wine-making

(Phys) -  Scientists have discovered where plants build tannins, complex chemicals used by plants for defence and protection. The source is the tannosome, a newly discovered organelle that is found in most land plants All living things are made from cells; whether they are single-celled or...

September, 11, 2013 Napa Valley enjoys 'ideal' harvest conditions

(Decanter) -  Napa Valley winemakers are basking in 'ideal' conditions for the 2013 harvest, reflecting an upbeat mood across California as a whole. Doug Shafer , president of  Shafer Vineyards  in the  Stags Leap  district of  Napa Valley , told  decanter...

September, 11, 2013 Lodi Harvest: Early, Big and Good

(Wines&Vines) - Harvest in Lodi, as in most of California, is early this year. “We’re a couple weeks early on everything,” said Tom Hoffman of Acampo, Calif.-based Heritage Oak Winery in the Lodi-Woodbridge AVA.  Hoffman grows 180 acres of grapes on property his f...

September, 11, 2013 'Moveable Feast' visits Wine Country

(PD) - It was inevitable that a PBS series about the nationwide farm-to-table trend would make its way to Sonoma County. When the producers of “Moveable Feast with Fine Cooking” contacted Duskie Estes of Zazu Kitchen + Farm in Sebastopol about filming one of the 13 episodes here, the...

September, 11, 2013 Russia Bans Moldovan Wine Imports

(RIANovosti) – Russia banned Moldovan wine imports on Tuesday over quality concerns, Russia’s chief consumer rights official told the Rossiya 24 news channel. “Despite our concerns, repeatedly expressed both publicly and, well, in working regime, basic problems remain unsolved,...

September, 10, 2013 Central Texas wine industry growing despite bad harvest

(KXXV)  - The Central Texas wine industry is growing like wild vines but late season frosts have affected this years harvest for many local wineries. Wineries and vineyards throughout the area may have to bring in grapes from outside Texas to meet the demand. Valley Mills Vineyard w...

September, 10, 2013 Latino Winemakers Rise in California, Through the Ranks

(NYTimes) -  It is harvest season in wine country, the time of year when the scent of crushed grapes infuses the air and flatbed trucks heavy with fruit cargo come lurching down narrow back roads.   For the winemaker Everardo Robledo — who grew up working in the fields alongsid...