Two K Farms Cidery and Winery 2022 Bubbly Riesling Takes Top Honors November 15, 2024 — Winners have been announced in the 2024 Harvest Challenge Wine Competition. After two spirited days of judging,Two K Farms Cidery and Winery 2022 Bubbly Riesling took the top prize. It was also awarded Best of Show Sparkling Wine. Coming in at 97 points, judges praised the wine for its “Mouth watering citrus and honeysuckle”; “Lingering tropical finish”; and “Perfect bubbles.” They also called it “Well balanced.” With a record number of entries from across the globe, the Harvest Challenge bases judging on a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions and grapes that combine to give personality to the wine. In other competitions, terroir is ignored. At the Harvest Challenge, judges taste wines alongside other wines of the same appellation. W

JUNE 28, 2024 – Winners have been announced in the 17th annual Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWWSC). The competition, which took place June 10-12 in Santa Rosa, Calif., was founded on the premise that the majority of wine purchased for home consumption is bought by women. The IWWSC judging panels consist entirely of professional women in the wine and spirits industries — winemakers, distillers, marketers, buyers, sommeliers, educators and journalists.  “As always, the International Women’s Wine & Spirits Competition shined a spotlight on hundreds of deserving wines,” says Debra Del Fiorentino, owner of Wine Competitions Management & Production, which organizes and presents IWWSC. “And even though entry is open to all winemakers regardless of gender, I found it gratifying that six of this year’s sweepstakes wines were created by women. And our overall wine winner also was named Best Woman Winemaker

The Australian ‘Black Summer’ of 2019/20, which saw bushfires destroy swathes of vineyard land across the country was a dramatic reminder of the growing challenges facing winemakers around the world. We spoke to leading Australian winemakers and lab technicians to find out how agile decision-making is helping to deal with the consequences of global warming. Offering alarming proof of the escalating effects of climate change, in November 2019 bushfires blazed through New South Wales, scorching more than five million hectares of land following Australia’s hottest and driest year on record. In December 2019, the fires swept through the Adelaide Hills, destroying 650 ha of vines in the region, and wiping out entire vineyards. Making matters worse, the smoke from the fires was far-reaching, rendering vineyard plots from Canberra to the Hunter Valley useless. Ravaging an estimated 24.3 million hectares of land in total and destroying over 3,000 buildings, the September 2019

Afternoon Brief, September 24th

California Farm Worker Union Marching to the French Laundry After Newsom Vetoes Labor Bill: Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have allowed farm workers to vote by mail in union elections, a change the United Farm Workers pressed for after the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year dealt a setback to its organizing practices...

MAY 18, 2021 (Santa Rosa, Calif.) — Experience Rosé, a wine competition that focuses exclusively on expressions of pink wine — sweet, dry, and sparkling — has announced results of the 2021 contest. Taking top prize this year is Naked Wines’ W. Donaldson 2018 Sonoma Rosé from famed sparkling winemaker Wayne Donaldson (former head winemaker for Domaine Chandon). Judges’ praise included: “Ranier cherry”; “Brioche!” “Orange zest”; “Pretty on palate”; “Fresh-lush at same time”; Hibiscus.” In addition to Best of Show, the wine also took honors as Best Domestic Sparkling.  Mathis Wine’s 2020 Rosé de Grenache was awarded Best Domestic Dry; judges described the estate single-vineyard wine as “Plush wild berry”; “Celery salt”; “Red apple.” Best International Dry honors went to Wayne Gretzky Estates Okanagan Ro

Avoid Shipping Delays: Order your 2021 Harvest Equipment this Month In the market for new harvest equipment this year? Whether you’re looking to add on to or upgrade your grape handling equipment, or are interested in purchasing a new press, now is the time to place your orders to ensure your machinery arrives in time for 2021 harvest. Armrbruster Rotovib Destemmer With its patented vibrating technology, the Rotovib Destemmer provides the gentlest handling of fruit, yielding the maximum number of whole berries with a minimum amount of stems, ensuring fruit is processed under the best conditions. Rotovibs are the highest quality, longest lasting, easy to maintain destemmer in the industry at a competitive price.  Learn more or place an order Armbruster RollerSorter The Armbruster RollerSorter is the newest solution for removing jacks, stems and leaves after the destemming process. The high percentage of whole berries generated by the Rotovib allows for very effective o