On April 7-8, 2026, a collection of esteemed wine professionals will gather in Santa Rosa, Calif., to evaluate entries in the 2026 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge. Competition managers are now accepting entries for the 14th annual NCWC, considered among the most prestigious wine challenges in the United States. This regional competition rates wines exclusively produced and bottled in Northern California’s premier winegrowing region to determine which wines are considered the Best of the Best. Eligible wines must be made from fruit sourced in the North Coast AVAs of Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, Marin and parts of Solano counties. This includes any bottled wine labeled with these AVAs as their main source of grapes and whose winery is in California. “The Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge is unique in that only wines made from grapes grown in the six North Coast counties are allowed to enter,” says Daryl Groom, chief judge of NCWC. “With that, t

With the expected continuing market correction of the alcohol beverage industry to consumer demand, wine producers are preparing for potential bankruptcies or shuttering of trade purchaser businesses at the distribution and retail levels. This article explores how alcohol beverage producers should prepare for trade disruption caused by bankruptcies. Bankruptcy is governed by federal law, and bankruptcy cases are exclusively handled in federal bankruptcy courts. When a business files for bankruptcy, its creditors (including suppliers with unpaid invoices) face significant uncertainty as to their ability to get paid. Alcohol beverage producers should be aware of three key issues that will impact their contracting relationships and products in the market in the context of the bankruptcy of a distributor or retailer: (1) the effect of an automatic stay; (2) the potential for recouping certain inventory; and (3) the potential of having certain payments received from the entity filing for b

Meta Ads, Miracle Results If your holiday Meta ads felt like lighting money on fire in a festive candle, that’s not because social is dead. It’s because your targeting and flighting were built for wishful thinking, not gifting intent. The fix isn’t magic. It’s method. You can absolutely turn Meta into a gift-selling machine between Thanksgiving and New Year—if you understand what actually drives intent and how to spend wisely when every other brand on earth is screaming for attention. What follows is a ruthless, winery-specific playbook for the six-week window between Thanksgiving and New Year that prioritizes intent, protects margin, and leans on real benchmarks instead of folklore. First, reality: volume is there, but it clusters Holiday ecommerce keeps breaking records, with online spend hitting roughly $241.4B from Nov 1 to Dec 31 and mobile responsible for the majority of transactions. (Adobe Newsroom) Translation: your customers are buying on their

The holidays are coming up fast, and we’re so excited to invite you to our Holiday Open House + Marketplace on Saturday, November 22nd at Grand Cru Custom Crush! With less than six weeks to go, this is the perfect way to kick off your holiday shopping early (before the crowds!) — and enjoy delicious handcrafted wines at the same time. Discover 40+ wines from our member wineries, shop from talented local artisans, and enjoy tasty bites from food vendors on site. It’s a festive day of wine, shopping, and community that you won’t want to miss!  Tickets: $35 — includes limitless wine tastings and valet service.  Food available for purchase separately. As a thank-you to our email subscribers, if you missed the early bird pricing, here’s an exclusive $5 off discount just for you: Use code: HOLIDAY5  Come sip, shop, and celebrate with us — we can’t wait to see you there! Tickets Here! Participating Wineries: Bienvenue | Blac

For vineyard owners, harvest season brings both excitement and anxiety. As grapes ripen and sugar levels climb, they become an irresistible target for birds, deer, raccoons, and other hungry visitors. A single flock of starlings or a few persistent deer can cause significant crop loss — not just in volume, but in quality. For growers working tirelessly all season long, these setbacks can be devastating. That’s why more and more vineyards are turning to physical deterrents like netting — a simple yet powerful solution that protects the fruit without compromising the vineyard’s aesthetic or farming practices. At Trident Fence, we’ve worked with growers across the country to provide vineyard netting that’s durable, easy to install, and incredibly effective. Whether you operate a boutique winery or manage acres of vines across varied terrain, netting may be the smartest step you take toward a more secure and profitable harvest. Why Netting Works fo

9 proven strategies to maximize Your October, November, December revenue  October, November, and December (OND) are the biggest sales months of the year for your business, and if done right, not just for short-term gains. This is your prime window to capture new customers, increase average order value, and build relationships that carry into the new year.  For many beverage alcohol businesses, OND can represent 30–40% of annual sales. The reason? Peak holiday spending meets perfect timing, gatherings, corporate gifting, and a growing preference for wine purchases create a massive opportunity.  The businesses that win the season don’t just survive the rush, they plan ahead, market smart, and execute flawlessly.  1. Start early and build holiday momentum While many of the sales will take place in OND, August and September are nearly the most important months as this is when your planning and preparations take place.  Suggested timeline:  August:

X-ray vision into volumes. A spidey-sense for leaks. The ability to teleport from ranch to ranch. Lumo gives irrigators superpowers. Or, more practically, it’s a tool they can use to irrigate with efficiency and precision. It saves them time turning valves and walking the lines looking for leaks, and it gives them a more complete picture of their irrigation system’s health and performance. With Lumo’s block-level data and accountable automation, irrigators can better protect their crops and critical infrastructure from damage, and achieve higher levels of irrigation precision across more acres. Lumo does not replace irrigators. It makes them better. It gives them the ability to do more with less and deliver better results. Five ways Lumo helps irrigators drive irrigation system performance and precision 1. Catch leaks as soon as they happen, not hours or days later. Leaks are often only visible after the water’s been running for a few hours. And even then, an

From the bottoms of pleasure boats to the undercarriages of trucks, tractors, trailers, cars and more, dirty bottoms are no laughing matter. Dirty bottoms are notorious for transporting social undesirables. These hitchhikers can include invasive species such as golden mussels and creepy crawlies, contagious bacteria and viruses (think e-coli and bird flu’), as well as soil and manure build up, and even corrosive road salt and brine. There’s a surprisingly simple solution to clean your bottom… Sneaky Hitchhikers: Bacteria and viruses can catch a ride on vehicles including boats. Just to name a few… E-coli can survive for months on surfaces. Some strains are able to produce toxins that can damage the digestive tract and lead to severe complications. Bird flu(avian influenza) has been found on both dairy and poultry farms and the virus can survive on surfaces for extended periods. It can travel via vehicles between farms. Salmonella can spread via vehicles, par

Silent, cost-effective, and eco-friendly, the FrightKite™ is helping vineyard owners protect their crops while increasing yields—one quiet vineyard at a time. Viewers of Good Morning Sacramento were treated to some footage of the Falcon Crop Protection FrightKite™ in action - although "action" may not be quite the right word. As you'll see from the clip (linked below), a section of grapes nearing harvest at Fawnridge Winery and Vineyards in Auburn, Calif. looked particularly quiet and absolutely idyllic during the report, filmed one Tuesday morning in late August 2018. But of course, quiet was the whole point - what was missing from the picture were the hundreds of squawking birds that normally flock to the vineyard looking for a free meal of ripening berries. "We were faced with spreading some nets over the top of the canopy of these vineyards. That's a big job," said Stewart Perry during the news report. Perry, who owns Fawnridge with his