Recent news headlines out of France regarding wine barrel management and leasing mainstay H&A Group have sparked concerns within the global wine industry, with potential significant impacts to the domestic and local wine industry’s barrel financing programs. H&A, a Bordeaux‑based barrel leasing company with a substantial international footprint, has reportedly been placed into judicial liquidation by the Bordeaux Commercial Court in early April, after unsuccessful restructuring efforts.[1] With thousands of clients worldwide—including wineries in California—the liquidation of H&A may have significant legal, financial, and operational implications for wine producers that relied on its barrel leasing and financing structures. For approximately two decades, H&A operated as a specialized financer of wine maturation, allowing wineries to access barrels without the need for substantial upfront capital expenditures. Through barrel lease and resale agreements, H&A worked

2026 Alexander Valley Bordeaux Grapes Now live on the WIN Marketplace: 2026 Alexander Valley / Pine Mountain Bordeaux grapes, grown at 2,000 feet above the Russian River. This offering includes all five Noble Bordeaux varietals, providing the opportunity to craft a complete Meritage or classic Bordeaux blend — a true one-stop sourcing solution for producers building out a cohesive red program With a 25-year track record supplying well-known premium Napa and Sonoma wineries, this vineyard brings both pedigree and high-elevation character to the table. Whether you’re sourcing fruit for blending, program expansion, or long-term vineyard partnerships, this listing provides direct access to availability details and grower contact information in one place: View Listing Thinking Ahead to Your Own Wine or Grape Sales? As planning continues for the year ahead, the WIN Marketplace is a valuable channel for producers and growers looking to sell bulk wine or grapes and connect di

Since 2019, Bouchard Cooperages has proudly represented Schneckenleitner, Austria’s premier producer of large-format oak puncheons, casks, and tanks, in North America. Family-owned and operated since 1880 in Waidhofen an der Ybbs, Schneckenleitner produces over 180 large-format oak tanks annually for the world’s most prestigious cellars. 🍇✨ Vertically Integrated Stave Mill From forest to cooperage, Schneckenleitner controls every step. Logs are hand-selected from Austria’s tight-grain Weidling forest and seasoned on-site along the Ybbs River, benefiting from a unique microclimate for optimal oak seasoning. New Product Offerings Puncheons (500L–800L): Available in Austrian Oak Elegance (AOE) for whites and light reds, and Austrian Oak Complex (AOC) for richer whites and darker reds. Expect delicate spice and impeccable craftsmanship. Ovals (10 HL+): A cellar space-maximizing favorite, perfect for fermenting and aging whites with less lees-to-juice contact. Roun

The fog along the California coast is alive — it flows from the Pacific Ocean up through passes in the protective coastal ranges and into the valleys like a tide. It rises into the hills and breathes before slowly receding to the valley floors and retreating through the mountains, across the sands and into the ocean waters. Toward the north, these fogs nurture the redwoods, and all along the coast, they provide relief from hot daytime temperatures for many wine country vineyards. The Niner Estate vineyards are near Paso Robles, about 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean. They are protected from the cold maritime winds by the Santa Lucia mountain range that parallels the coastline. One of the valleys the fog creeps through is the nearby Templeton Gap. For over a decade, Niner Wine Estates’ winemaker Patrick Muran has been crafting the Fog Catcher Bordeaux blend that he says is “named after the cool banks of fog we often see drifting over our vineyards on early mornings in

Afternoon Brief: The Annual SVB State of the Industry Survey Is Closing

These are the final days to participate in the 2024 State of the Industry Survey. We have a soft close scheduled for Friday the 18th but have decided to leave the survey open for stragglers through the weekend...

In the introductory blog in the Wine Series, we took a look at why it is important to rehydrate yeast properly. In the future, we will talk about and compare and contrast specific strains of yeast. But before we get into what the differences are between specific yeasts, we should take a look at how the yeasts used in winemaking came to be what they are today. Yeast is not new. It didn’t get invented. The fungus occurs naturally and has always been here with us and has changed along with us humans. Sometime, possibly around 5,000 years ago, humans realized yeast could be a tool and domesticated for our own purposes – whether that’s making bread or alcohol. In breadmaking, the yeast gives the bread CO2 bubbles to make the dough rise. Back then, people didn’t know about potassium bitartrate or other chemical means of making dough rise, so all bread was naturally fermented by using yeast and/or sourdough bacteria. In nature, yeast divides and makes a clone of itself

High inflation levels and rising interest rates in many markets around the world have engendered pessimism as to the retail sales outlook. Food inflation has generally been lagging overall inflation’s levelling-off trajectory, encouraging consumers to cut back on supermarket spending. In this context, global bulk wine activity has proceeded cautiously through the final quarter of 2022 while sales are carefully analysed; no one wants to find themselves overstocked, or having paid too high a price.  Next year’s ProWein, the first since 2019 held in the month of March – when winter’s chill is still blowing in off the Rhine – could be so timed as to be the collective market wake or awakening, depending on the optimism levels of whomever one talks to. Such broad brushstrokes, of course, ignore the day-to-day business still taking place on the market: opportunities are arising and being harnessed. The truth is nearly always to be found somewhere between tho

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

2022 Sunset International Wine Competition Awards Best of the Best and Best Red Wine to Wapato Point Cellars’ 2018 Cabernet Franc Santa Rosa, Calif., — June 14, 2022—Boasting a record number of entries, the 2022 Sunset International Wine Competition awarded Best of the Best and Best Red Wine to a Cabernet Franc from Wapato Point Cellars (Manson, Wash.). Judges raved: “Beautiful oak”; “Blackberry”; “Righteous herbal”; “Focused.” This is the first time a Washington State wine has taken top prize at this prestigious competition. “It was unexpected but well deserved,” says Debra Del Fiorentino, founder and president of Wine Competitions Management & Productions. “We had some really great wines in the final sweepstakes rounds, and Wapato Point Cellars swoops in and takes it all. Results like this are why competitions are so valuable.” To win Best of Show Red Wine, the Wapato Point Cab Franc ha