The 2025 Barrel Weekend is all about tasting wines from the past, present and future. This annual weekend event has been reimagined for its 47th anniversary, letting the wineries along the Wine Road focus on more than just tasting wines from the barrel. And, giving tasters new opportunities for exploring and learning about wine. More Tasting Options With wineries pouring wines from past (library wines), present (current release wines) and future (barrel samples), attendees have more choices and can choose what they most enjoy or what they seeking to restock their wine cellars. As you look through the online Barrel Weekend program, you’ll discover wineries pouring wines from one, two or all three of the category options. This information lets you, the ticket holder, design the tasting path that suits your palate preferences. If you love tasting only barrel samples and possibly buying wine futures, you can still do that. But, if you prefer to taste wines that are currently availabl

In this episode, George interviews Michael De Loach, owner of Michael De Loach Brands. Michael shares stories of growing up on his family’s vineyard, where they began crafting their own wines, marking the start of De Loach Vineyards. He recalls the success of their 1979 white zinfandel, which became so popular they could barely keep up with demand. Michael also discusses how he launched his current company eight years ago, starting by helping a friend sell wine to a national distributor. He emphasizes that a strong, tailored approach is key when working with distributors. The wine industry is currently facing challenging times—hear Michael’s perspective on how the industry reached this point and how long these difficulties might last.  Catch Michael speaking at the annual North Coast Wine Industry Expo (WIN Expo) on December 5th in Santa Rosa, CA. He’ll be presenting on Distributor Relations: Controlling Your Brand’s Destiny for 2025. Use promo co

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

Afternoon Brief, December 21st

Scientist Presents Grape Smoke Exposure Research: Study was discussed during an American Society for Viticulture and Enology gathering in Japan...