Murphys, Calif.—An annual tour of top Calaveras County winegrape vineyards showed growers how to achieve better management practices. The Calaveras Winegrape Alliance (CWA) vineyard tour, organized jointly with the University of California Cooperative Extension, visited six vineyards July 22. Calaveras County, in the Sierra Foothills American Viticultural Area, currently has more than 900 acres of vineyards ranging in elevation from 500 to 3,400 feet, and a pending application for AVA status. Grapegrowing and wine production began during the Gold Rush period, but most of the county’s vineyards, and its 31 bonded wineries (plus 6 virtual wineries, per WinesVinesDATA), began production within the past 30 years.