Napa, CA (September 30, 2025) – Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty (DP&F) is pleased to announce the addition of three new Associate Attorneys: Leslee Carroll, Nick Conti, and Elena Moreno. DP&F Litigation Group Grows by Two DP&F’s Litigation group, led by firm partner David Balter, grew by two associate attorneys this summer. This expansion serves DP&F’s commitment to delivering effective, efficient, and results-oriented solutions to help clients navigate civil litigation disputes. Leslee Carroll joined DP&F from a firm focused on construction litigation and has experience in all manner of civil litigation, including contract claims, tort actions, and property disputes. She received her law degree from the UC Davis School of Law, and her B.A. from UC Santa Barbara. Leslee is a member of the Richard M. Sangster American Inn of Court and serves on the board of Napa County Women Lawyers. Nick Conti worked in the field of special education law prior to j

Inventory should empower your winery’s growth—not hold it back. But for many wine businesses, managing case goods across multiple locations, bonds, and sales channels is a constant challenge. Join InnoVint and Commerce7 for a practical, peer-led conversation on with winery leaders who’ve successfully simplified inventory tracking, improved team collaboration, and made more strategic DTC sales decisions by connecting their inventory and commerce systems. Featured panelists include: Larry Harris, Owner at Bayernmoor Cellars (WA) Cathy Pedroncelli, VP of Finance at Pedroncelli Winery (CA) Melissa Aellen, Director of Winery Operations at Linganore Winecellars (MD) Jeff Carroll, VP of Partnerships at Commerce7 Kevin Williams, Customer Growth Director at InnoVint Who Should Attend: Winery Owners & General Managers Production & Operations Leaders Finance & Compliance Professionals DTC, Tasting Room, and Club Managers Register Here Can't make it

Afternoon Brief, May 29th

Oregon Wineries Sue Pacificorp for $100 Million for Smoke Damage: Some 30 wineries in Willamette Valley are suing Warren Buffett’s energy company PacifiCorp for negligence surrounding the 2020 wildfires that caused catastrophic smoke taint to their crops...

October 3, 2023 — Text messaging is now an essential B2C communication channel and mainstream adoption continues to grow. To best serve the needs of wineries looking to use this important feature to grow their business, WineDirect — the industry’s leading platform for winery DTC sales — and RedChirp — the market-leading SMS platform for wineries — have partnered closely to develop deep integrations. Over the summer, the two companies worked to deepen their partnership, developing both a new integration with WineDirect’s Fulfillment Services and expanding the existing integration between RedChirp and the classic WineDirect platform to the All-New WineDirect. In fact, RedChirp was the first third-party platform to integrate with the All-New WineDirect. As a result of business texting’s exponential growth, the telecom industry is highly motivated to control spam and keep the channel pure and effective. That’s fundamentally good for

Join us for a quick, informative webinar on July 12th at 10am as industry experts, Jeff Carroll, WineDirect's VP Partnerships and Compliance, and Bahaneh Hobel, Head of Alcohol Beverage Law and Compliance at Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty, shed light on the latest updates in Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) regulations. With a specific focus on key developments like the California Bottle Bill, Colorado Delivery Fee, Alaska's new licensing requirements, and the California Privacy Rights Act (CRPA), this event is a must-attend for wineries and professionals in the DTC space. Don't miss this opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and gain valuable knowledge from leading experts in the field. Register now to secure your spot and ensure you are well-prepared to adapt to the recent changes in DTC regulations.

March 1, 2023 – American Canyon, CA. WineDirect is pleased to announce that Jeff Carroll has joined as Vice President, Partners and Compliance. Jeff has nearly 20 years of senior leadership experience in beverage alcohol, including well-known companies like ShipCompliant and Compli, where he designed and brought to market tools for both industry members and state agencies. Most recently, Jeff was General Manager, Beverage Alcohol at Avalara, leading overall strategy and growth for the business unit. Jeff is also a member of the Board for Free the Grapes!, a national coalition focused on expanding consumers’ ability to purchase wine direct-to-consumer by removing bans and streamlining restrictions across the United States. Jeff’s responsibilities will include leading the development of our integrated partner network, ensuring those key relationships drive value for WineDirect clients and partners. He will also leverage his deep regulatory experience to ensure WineDirec

Brian BakerBrian Baker is managing partner at Cultivar, a wine sales and marketing company specializing in three-tier, direct-to-consumer, and export channels. We spoke with Brian last year on tasting rooms and the changes that came with the COVID-19 pandemic; now, we turned to him again to talk about imports and how foreign wine brands are now looking at direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels. You‌ ‌can‌ ‌listen‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌full‌ ‌interview‌ ‌here‌ ‌or‌ ‌read‌ ‌the‌ ‌abridged‌ ‌version‌ ‌below‌:‌ ‌ Milton Cornwell: Today, I have Brian Baker, who really needs no introduction. His background in the wine and hospitality space is extensive and includes senior leadership positions at Jackson Family Wines, Chateau Montelena, and Mayacamas Vineyards. We first caught up with him in 2020, right after the pandemic had hit, and got into many topics, mo

New Layout and Features Coming to 37th Maryland Wine Festival

The Maryland Wine Festival® celebrates its 37th year at the Carroll County Farm Museum. August 10th – (ANNAPOLIS, MD) – The Maryland Wine Festival returns to the Carroll County Farm Museum on Saturday, September 18 and Sunday, September 19. Since 1984, enthusiasts seeking to learn about the Maryland wine industry have been invited to roam […]

The Commerce7 and Avalara integration simplifies ever-changing rules and regulations for wineries, with built-in shipping verification and real-time reports. With one streamlined solution, wineries are more effectively able to mitigate risk, as well as verify and clear compliance statuses.  “We are really excited about our recent integration with Avalara Shipping Verification. It features a fast, modern API for integration, and more importantly, it is simple for a winery to get started with — no need for wineries to maintain products in multiple systems,” says Andrew Kamphuis, President of Commerce7.  When it comes to compliance, wineries are tasked with constantly monitoring the status of their orders to ensure they comply and are up-to-date with evolving shipping laws. Our integration with Avalara Shipping Verification saves time and reduces the burden for wineries. Notifications are automatically sent for each order that is submitted, providing compliance