At Copper Peak Logistics, our strength comes not just from the work we do, but from the people who show up every day committed to excellence. This Women’s History Month, we are proud to recognize four women whose leadership has helped shape Copper Peak into the company it is today: Stacey Heuer, Merilee Anderson, Katiria “Kay” Rodriguez, and Heidi Grooms. Together, these four leaders represent 64 years of dedication working for the Lane Family. Their collective experience, leadership styles, and commitment to meaningful relationships have been instrumental in building the culture, standards, and reputation that define Copper Peak. While each of them leads in different areas of the organization, they share a common belief: great logistics isn’t just about moving product. It’s about people, partnerships, and the responsibility of representing our winery partners with care and precision. Leadership Rooted in Experience and Passion Each of these women brings

Two years ago, I wrote an article on AI in the vineyard for WBM. Feel free to read that article here…if you want. Otherwise, my basic argument was that although AI will eventually play a role in how we farm grapes, it’s a long way off compared to other industries and even other crops. We who grow grapes are the last ones to see such innovation. And since then, AI has grown exponentially. If two years ago you were playing around with Chat GPT to create bizarrely distorted images and learn about tax loopholes, you can now go onto the likes of Claude and have it just create a website for you from a single prompt. Chatbots like this have essentially eliminated the need for entry-level coders. However Claude is a computer, so it makes sense that it’s gotten very good at writing code for other computers. Similarly Chat GPT has digested the entire internet, and curates any answer for you by plucking it from its vast network of information. Sometimes its correct, and other t

Is there a hole in your irrigation execution?  Are you glazed and confused by your irrigation system performance?  Are irrigation issues costing you way too much dough?  Do-nut fear, Lumo is here  There are two really important things you need to know.  Lumo's giving away free Krispy Kreme donuts at the Unified Wine Grape Symposium. Booth #1932. Jan 28th 10:00 AM & 2:00 PM and Jan 29th 11:00 AM. While quantities last. Do-nut miss it.  That hole in your execution? That lack of visibility into system performance? Those climbing irrigation costs? Yeah, Lumo can help with those too.  Nail Your Irrigation Plan. Every block. Every time. With Lumo, growers can automate their irrigations from pump to plant, track pressure and flow at a block-level on every irrigation, and get automatic text alerts about leaks, clogs and any other issues that pop up in the field.  The result is precise, efficient, fully automated irrigation execution.  W

Santa Rosa, Calif., January 6, 2026—Lumo, the leader in precision irrigation technology for specialty crop growers, today announced a new strategic partnership with Wyatt Irrigation Supply, the most trusted leader in irrigation since 1982, to drive expansion and standardization across the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma. Winegrowers today are reeling, facing unprecedented pressure from rapidly rising labor costs and shortages, soft market demand, and increased water regulation. To survive, winegrowers must adapt and invest in ways to improve fruit quality and vineyard efficiency. Improving irrigation systems with a proven precision irrigation platform like Lumo is one of the highest return ways to improve fruit quality, while also reducing labor costs and system risks. Wyatt has seen countless automation solutions come and go over the years, making the same promises to growers over and over again. They are keenly aware of the risks and have been cautious when vetting new technologi

If you employ full-time staff, seasonal crews, or part-time help in Oregon’s wine industry, there’s a new law that could change how you approach labor planning and workplace disputes—especially during your busiest seasons. Oregon Senate Bill 916 (SB 916) makes Oregon the first state in the country to offer unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to both public and private sector employees who are engaged in a labor strike. Why Provide Unemployment Benefits to a Striking Workforce? Lawmakers behind the bill say it’s about fairness. Their argument is that workers who are lawfully on strike shouldn’t be forced to choose between standing up for better conditions and being able to pay their bills. They point out that most strikes in Oregon don’t last long—about eight or nine weeks on average—and believe a short-term safety net could lead to more productive negotiations. But not everyone agrees. Many employers, especially in agriculture and manufa

Who (or what) is this eddy you keep talking about? Efficient water management has never been more critical for agriculture and specifically for viticulture. High-end viticulture needs to manage water to not only cut costs, but to keep quality high in a market of oversupply and buyers who hold the upper hand over the grower. High production viticulture may not need the water management finesse for quality that high-end viticulture does, but regulatory demands for groundwater protection as well as limitations on water deliveries push growers into making the most out of every gallon. Here at AV, we’ve made use of impactful technologies to help growers irrigate efficiently and control vine stress to improve wine quality from their vineyards. Our primary tools have been the soil moisture probe and, more recently, the Florapulse microtensiometer. Both tools have been indispensable and even more so now that we have our own data portal to view and analyze these data streams. More recen

License to Win: 5 Key Benefits of Automated Customer Service in Wineries As technology advances and labor costs rise, businesses across industries are turning to automation—and the wine industry is no exception. While wineries focus on crafting exceptional wines, customer service often becomes a bottleneck, especially during peak seasons like holiday sales or wine club shipments. Our research—based on over 100 interviews with U.S. winery owners and employees—revealed that many small wineries lack dedicated customer support, while larger ones still struggle to handle high volumes of inquiries efficiently. The result? Delayed responses, overwhelmed staff, and frustrated customers. In many cases, winery employees spend up to four hours a day just prioritizing voicemails and emails, unable to keep up with customer requests in real time. During peak wine club seasons, the volume of inquiries skyrockets, making it nearly impossible to respond within 24 hours. Accordi

It's not for the faint of heart Going no-till certainly has been picking up steam in recent years, and overall it’s a good thing. When I first got involved in viticulture back in 2010 I was living in Italy. Like a lot of Mediterranean viticultural areas, there was a tendency to disc everything all the time. If you didn’t have a barren wasteland with vines poking out of it, you weren’t a good farmer. Anything you couldn’t get to with a tractor you sprayed with herbicide. One of my first vineyard jobs in Italy was spraying glyphosate out of a backpack sprayer all spring. I felt like I was in the final scene of the Godfather! Minus the dying part. Herbicide: the new four-letter word Mentalities have shifted since then both in Europe and here in the states. All in all it’s a good shift. We’ve all seen places that have gone on for years and years using herbicide to a point where you don’t even need to spray it anymore because that soil is so d

Vineyard management has never been easy and crop variability is one persistent issue that has not been resolved. Having successfully proven the technology for multiple seasons with industry leaders like E&J Gallo, Arterra, and UC Davis, Verdi has distinguished itself as the first and only commercially available solution for variable rate irrigation in vineyards. Verdi has demonstrated significant ROI from its cutting-edge solution through higher yield and improved quality by eliminating crop variability due to soil type, elevation, vine maturity, and variety. According to Roman Kozak, CTO and co-founder of Verdi, the technology his company has developed is able to finetune water and fertilizer applications in a way not previously possible. “Within an existing irrigation zone, we are able to give more water to the vines that need it and less water to the vines that don’t need as much.” “We engineered this very low-cost hardware that connects to the drip tub

In the face of escalating production costs and growing consumer demand for eco-friendly winemaking practices, today’s winemakers are actively seeking new ways to conserve energy and transition towards more sustainable production techniques. ATPGroup and TMCI Padovan are here to help. TMCI Padovan has long been a global leader in the manufacturing of innovative winemaking equipment and is firmly dedicated to maximizing energy efficiency across every process, plant, machinery, and production site. Guided by the principles of the circular economy, which lies at the heart of their business, they are laser-focused on the reuse and regeneration of materials and products. This not only ensures sustainable and environmentally friendly practices but also offers better control of production costs and even substantial reductions. In 2023, TMCI Padovan took a momentous leap forward by inaugurating their new production site. This cutting-edge facility was constructed using state-of-the-art ma