On January 9, 2024, the California Department of Health (CDPH) issued an order changing COVID-19 related definitions. These revisions apply to the Cal/OSHA Non-Emergency Regulations, which are still in place until February 3, 2025 and must be followed by all employers in California. The questions and answers below reflect the updated rules and definitions that currently apply in the workplace. You can read more about the changes on Cal/OSHA’s FAQ page here, which is updated regularly. COVID-19 Updates for California Employers as of January 2024 What is the current definition of the “infectious period” for employees who test positive for COVID-19? For COVID-19 cases with symptoms, the “infectious period” is a minimum of 24 hours from the day of symptom onset. Under the current regulations, there is no infectious period for COVID-19 cases with no symptoms. If an employee tests positive, are they required to be excluded from the workplace?   If an employ

By Roberto Pavesi, Fermentis Sales Manager for South Europe Just 15 years ago, Prosecco was almost entirely sold in Italy. Now, it is the world’s best-selling sparkling wine, with 600 million bottles produced in 2020. This phenomenon has evidently to do with a strong wine identity and a rich history, but also to the producers determination that built Prosecco into a billion-dollar brand. Let's see how they worked and what significant challenges they will face in the decade ahead. Roberto Pavesi A SIMPLE STYLE BUT A SHARP STRATEGY The success of Prosecco is global and it has lifted dozens of families from an economic crisis and a lack of outlets for the wine produced. But tensions exist on the exhaustion of the land linked to monoculture, and on the position to be adopted: should Prosecco remain a simple wine or become “the new champagne,” as the English already say? The history of Prosecco resembles a fairy tale. In the Treviso countryside, we always used to drink

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Meets with WineAmerica and Waterloo Container WATERLOO, NY–Senate Majority Chuck Schumer met on Friday, December 2 with leaders of WineAmerica, the National Association of American Wineries, and owners of Waterloo Container, a large supplier of bottles to the American wine industry located in the fabulous Finger Lakes wine region of upstate New York. WineAmerica President Jim Trezise, Vice Chair Scott Osborn of Fox Run Vineyards, and Board Member Erica Paolicelli of Three Brothers Winery met with their Senator and discussed WineAmerica’s National Economic Impact Study of the Wine Industry plus two legislative priorities. Scott Osborn, Erica Paolicelli, and Jim Trezise join Majority Leader Schumer The USPS Shipping Equity Act would allow the postal service to ship wine (and beer, and spirits) directly to consumers like FedEx and UPS have been doing for years. Federal funding for the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of USDA to cond

Premier International Kosher Food & Wine Experience Makes a Triumphant Return to London and Israel

After a 2-Year Absence, the Kosher Food & Wine Experience (Kfwe) Presents the Latest and Greatest in Kosher Wines and Creative Cuisine (JUNE 23, 2022, London/Tel Aviv)– The world’s largest public kosher food […]

Afternoon Brief, April 27th

Wine Trade Faces Supply Chain, War Fallout After Record Year - OIV: Supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine could curb global wine trade after it rebounded last year to a record level as countries eased coronavirus-related restrictions, international wine body OIV said on Wednesday...

Afternoon Brief, November 9th

As Restaurants Reopen, Sommeliers Re-Envision Wine Lists: Restaurants closed throughout much of 2020 when the novel coronavirus caused a series of lockdowns. To cover the costs of lost sales and in order to continue to pay employees, the monthly rent, and attempt to stay in business, some restaurants resorted to selling much—in some cases all—of their wine inventories...

As Restaurants Reopen, Sommeliers Re-Envision Wine Lists

What producers need to know to get their wines into the hospitality sector. —Melanie Young Restaurants closed throughout much of 2020 when the novel coronavirus caused a series of lockdowns. To cover the costs of lost sales and in order to continue to pay employees, the monthly rent, and attempt to stay in business, some […]

After over a year in a global pandemic, it may not surprise you to know that a majority of American workers say they are doing some percentage of their work remotely. And while many may have expected that to change after the mandates are removed, research shows that they may not.   However, even though many workers are embracing this shift, many industries have their doubts. As you can imagine, working remotely has proven to be challenging for industries that require workers to operate equipment or accomplish tasks onsite (e.g., dining, retail, manufacturing, and the beverage alcohol industry). The wine industry isn’t any different. In fact, the industry has had to adjust to significant sales channel shifts to stay competitive. Wineries with strong direct-to-consumer followings or strong off-premise distribution persevered or even prospered during the pandemic, according to the 2020 State of the Industry report by Silicon Valley Bank. Despite this negativ

ETS Laboratories, a go-to tester for the wine business in the region, has made significant upgrades to its main St. Helena laboratory since the testing crunch of the 2020 season, according to Gordon Burns, president and technical director. Additions of equipment, personnel and lab space allows the lab to analyze more than double the grape and wine samples daily. “It’s a pretty massive undertaking,” he said. The investment amounts to millions of dollars in equipment alone. In an area hit by more frequent, intense wildfires, testing for chemical compounds that suggest there may be an issue with unwanted smoky character in wine increasingly has become part of vintner-grower contracts. Yet last year brought the convergence of a number of large blazes burning between the Canadian and Mexican borders right around harvest time. “But that doesn’t mean that all the grapes are smoke impacted,” Burns said. “That there is a wildfire does not mean that i

Santa Rosa Employers Now Have Increased Sick Pay Responsibility Effective immediately, the Santa Rosa City Council voted to increase sick pay and include more employers under the recently passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). The FFCRA is a federal law that provides employees with two key benefits: (1) up to 80 hours of Emergency Sick Leave for employees experiencing COVID-19 related illness, taking care of family members with the illness, or who lack childcare due to school and daycare closures; and (2) up to 10 weeks of Expanded FMLA leave for childcare due to school and daycare closures. The FFCRA requires employers to pay the full wages of employees who need time off for their own or a family member’s illness up to a maximum of $511/day; and 2/3 of wages up to $200/day for absences due to lack of childcare. Employers who pay these benefits are then entitled to a dollar-for-dollar tax credit reduction on their payroll taxes. The FFCRA specifical