Introduction Coopers have long recognized the importance of forest origin in shaping the sensory qualities of wine, yet relatively little research has been conducted to understand the underlying factors driving these effects. With access to oak sourced directly from several prestigious and historically significant French forests through our company-owned stave mill in northeastern France, we saw a unique opportunity to investigate how forest terroir contributes to wine expression. This study was conducted for our TW Boswell brand of French oak barrels and aimed to evaluate whether specific forest origins impart distinct chemical and sensory characteristics to wine. We selected three single-origin forests – Allier, Tronçais, and Nièvre and a blend composed of Bertranges, Bercé, and Russy – to compare the influence of each on wine aged in barrels crafted with TW Boswell’s proprietary toasting profiles. Our goal was to better understand the role of f

Better Together: Scout + Monarch Partner to Power a New Era of Sustainable Vineyard Management Scout, the leader in AI-supported precision viticulture data platform, and Monarch Tractor, the pioneer of the fully electric, driver-optional tractor, and smart MK-V tractor, have announced a strategic partnership to provide vine-level mapping and analysis during standard MK-V operations; maximizing the value of each tractor pass and further reducing a vineyard’s carbon footprint. The collaboration pairs Scout’s AI-supported actionable plant insights with Monarch’s zero-emissions operations, enabling more regenerative, biodynamic, and organic practices in modern viticulture that also unlocks significant savings for a farm. A Shared Vision for the Future of Farming “Practices like organic, biodynamic, and regenerative farming demand greater surveillance and precision at the vine level– that’s why Scout exists,” says Kia Behnia, CEO of Scout. &ldq

The Vineyard Team's Juan Nevarez Memorial Scholarship Published in Wine Business Monthly February 1, 2025 The Vineyard Team, a non-profit organization, has been around for 30 years, and from the beginning its focus has been on providing education in sustainable winegrowing. "Something that we talk about a lot is the three P's: people, planet and prosperity. The scholarship program is our way of giving back to the people," explained Beth Vukmanic, The Vineyard Team executive director. "And it's really just been wonderful to see it grow over time." Launching in 2015 with money raised from a food and wine event, the scholarship program has since grown, awarding a total of $350,000 in scholarship funds. SHARE THIS OPPORTUNITY Funds for the program now come from direct donations to the scholarship. In 2022 Must! Charities-a Paso Robles-based non-profit that helps fundraise and support programs in the area-decided to make an investment in The Vineyard Team'

I had an macroeconomics professor preface the start of the semester stating that any question asked in his class was answerable with “it depends”…or “China”. While I don’t remember a ton about that class or the intricacies of U.S. tariff policy towards Chinese manufacturing, I find that at least the former part of that statement applies to frost season. In this case, how you handle your frost damage depends on a few factors. How hard did you get hit? When did the damage occur? What are your winemaking goals? Let’s start with this last one. What wine is this going into? Frost damage always looks like Armageddon the morning after. Give it a month though, and it may look not much different than normal. You may even get just as big a crop as you would have if no frost had occurred. This is because the vine is resilient and pushes a lot of secondary and tertiary buds to make up for your burned-up primary bud. Whatever fruit you have from these late

We are always in awe of the cool technologies our industry comes up with every year. We hear the buzz at trade shows like the DTCWS and read futuristic-sounding articles that round up what wineries around the world are doing. There are some neat things just on the horizon, and these things will particularly affect the kinds of wineries that come to us for help with their DTC shipping and fulfillment. Here, then, are some of the top trends and technologies we are seeing, and that we feel are poised to become common practice throughout the wine industry. Augmented Reality, Augmented Bottles Augmented reality is simply the idea of integrating digital information (and even digital interaction) right at the point where the user is already interacting with something in physical reality. While many augmented reality experiences started with clumsy-looking VR headsets and glasses, many simpler projects are taking root using just a smartphone and a QR code. Enter the augmented bottle. The

As the cellar master of Krug, Julie Cavil has one of the most revered and respected jobs in Champagne. She explains the creative process behind the flagship Grande Cuvée, how Krug evolves over time and how the 2022 vintage is shaping up. How did it feel to become Krug’s first female cellar master? Rather than saying I’m the first female cellar master, I’d simply say I’m the eighth cellar master in the history of the house. It’s my job to perpetuate the dream of the house’s founder, Joseph Krug, each year with a new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée. I’ve been with Krug since 2006 and prior to becoming cellar master, I was winemaking director and a member of the tasting committee alongside former chef de cave Eric Lebel. The transition was seamless for us. I work with an immensely talented team on many projects, which keeps my job interesting.  Krug Grande Cuvée is made from a blend of up to 120 wines from more than

From University enology programs (like UC Davis and UniAdelaide) to large commercial wineries, InnoVint partners with winemakers looking to collaborate, educate and report all in one place. Hildegarde Heymann, Ph.D. and Professor at UC Davis, has been using InnoVint’s software as an educational tool for the next generation of winemakers and had this to share, "We utilize the software to run our Introduction to Winemaking course in the Fall, to track our winery inventory, and allow graduate students to manage their research projects." "InnoVint has been an essential software tool for our students and our staff in UC Davis' Viticulture and Enology Department," continues Heymann. "During the pandemic, InnoVint allowed me to teach winemaking completely remotely, an amazing feat I didn't think would be possible!”

Cal Poly's new winery provides students with hands-on experience using industry-grade winemaking equipment, and Westec is proud to have supplied the winery fermentation tanks and financially supporting the education of the next generation of winemakers.