Each Family Has Continuously Farmed Land for More than 100 Years The image of vibrant farms and rugged ranches set among Sonoma County’s beautiful landscapes has long been sought after by tourists, painters and photographers. The sheer beauty has always stood out, but, given that the area’s first vineyards date back to 1812, it is the region’s agrarian roots and family legacy that makes Sonoma County unique. Today, twenty-two local families, all winegrape growers, were recognized as the original members of the “Century Club” in honor of their continuously farming their family’s original land for more than one hundred years. Sonoma County Winegrowers created the Century Club to mark the unique legacies of farm families in the region and it will recognize new families with the honor as they hit the one-hundred-year mark in the years ahead. Each of these farms – and the families behind them – have endured the ups and downs of the cyclical

In Dedication to Bill Hayes - Judge The Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge along with its intimate team of judges are saddened by the recent loss of much-loved fellow judge Bill Hayes. Bill was one of the core judges for the past 5 competitions and his expertise, knowledge, experience, and friendliness will be very much missed. Says Daryl Groom Chief Judge “Bill was always top of my list to invite back every year. He had a great palate but more importantly he just got along with everyone. He is a judge you could put on any panel as he loved and appreciated all wines and simply got along with everyone. He was always happy and smiling and at the end of every competition made sure he came and thanked me for having him and how much he enjoyed himself. He was often the last one to leave, always being around and volunteering for any Gold Medal judge offs for Best of Class. He oozed passion, respect, and kindness.                   &

The wine industry is a tight-knit community where new ideas and solutions travel by word of mouth to bring transformation to the industry. And when difficulties arise, such as shifting consumer demographics and rising operational costs, wineries and wine growers lean on each other for support. The response from wineries has led to a focus on premiumization, automation, and building stronger relationships with younger consumers. Climate change has also increased the frequency of conditions like drought, wildfires and untimely frosts, resulting in more dramatic changes from vintage to vintage. Higher pressure from media, government and younger consumers, pushed wineries to reduce their environmental impact, leading to new solar plants, a transition to organic, biodynamic and regenerative agriculture and technology to measure everything from water usage to carbon sequestration. Wineries Foster Localism Wineries are also looking for other ways to increase sustainability, such as buyin

Afternoon Brief, October 5th

Website Launches to Inform Public About Lawsuits: Hoopes Vineyards, Summit Lake Vineyards and Smith-Madrone Winery are suing Napa County over unconstitutional patterns and practices and have now launched saveoursmallwineries.org...

Decision-making on the sourcing of bulk wine and grapes continues to get more complex and difficult. April frosts in the Lodi/Delta, and in other regions of California to a lesser extent, added another challenging variable to the year. As of now, it appears the reduction in supply due to the frost affected Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in these regions the most. Time will provide a clearer picture of the 2022 crop size. In fact, recent crop projections are generally more positive than the initial forecasts after the frosts, but there is still uncertainty as to the extent of the damage. In the North Coast and other parts of California, the frost will likely have less of an impact. Bulk markets have slowed, returning to a more typical seasonal pace following 18 months of heightened demand, but still remain active. The typical spring slowdown is due to wineries assessing crop size and projected sales trends to inventories. It is more complicated this year for a few reasons. The first variable

by Steve Fredricks Last month I was impatiently waiting for my favorite Philly Cheesesteak as I overheard another sandwich lover describing the success of his investment in Dogecoin to his friend. He was touting Dogecoin as a “sure investment” based on his study of the price trend, and was looking forward to spending his yet unrealized gains. I couldn’t help but be reminded of reading about confirmation bias while studying psychology and behavioral economics. Confirmation bias is the tendency to place greater weight on the variables which support the future that most benefits us and to discount information that does not. Mr. Philly Cheesesteak failed to acknowledge the speculative nature of Dogecoin. I hope his friend didn’t choose to invest; shortly after overhearing that conversation, Dogecoin dropped 40 percent. Markets, in reality, are complex beasts with many evolving variables and more determining factors than just today’s price and direction. Histor