More Than 220,000 Acres in California are Enrolled in FFF Program  NAPA, Calif. (November 25, 2024) – Thirty-two winegrape growers and wineries from Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties have been recognized with the Founders’ Award from the Fish Friendly Farming Certification program for achieving and maintaining certification for more than 20 years. In 1999, the Fish Friendly Farming Certification program was created to protect and enhance the Russian River watershed in Sonoma County. Soon, it was expanded with a specific program tailored for Napa County and other regions. Today, more than 220,000 acres located in thirteen counties in California are enrolled in the innovative program that improves water quality and wildlife habitat. “The Fish Friendly Farming certification has become very popular among winegrowers as a sustainable certification program because it is highly effective in improving water quality and restoring fish and wildlife habitat,&rd

The 3rd annual Healdsburg Wine and Food Experience was a weekend-long celebration that featured the best of Sonoma County and world-renowned food and wines. This year's festival showcased the region's makers – farmers, growers, winemakers and chefs – alongside globally recognized wines, highlighting the vibrant culinary diversity, deep connection to agriculture, and sustainable farming practices of Sonoma County. HWFE is deeply involved in the Sonoma County community, making substantial donations from this year’s ticket sales and sponsorships to local organizations that make a meaningful difference in the lives of farmers and their families, including the Sonoma County Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos. These funds will help support the Leadership Academy and workforce development for vineyard employees and their families, fostering future leaders in both the industry and the community. As well as being co-founders of HWFE, Sonoma County Winegro

Wine’s Most Inspiring People 2024: Tom Klein — A 35-Year Legacy of Excellence

By Laurie Wachter   It’s been 45 years since Tom Klein first set eyes on Rodney Strong winery and vineyards.  He was working at McKinsey & Company after earning his […]

September 21, 2023 — The 2023 International Eastern Wine Competition and West Coast Wine Competition match-up has announced Eberle Winery’s 2021 Cotes-du-Robles Rouge, a Rhone-style blend, as the Best of the Best…of the Best. A blend of 54% Grenache; 38% Mourvedre and 8% Syrah, Eberle’s red blend wowed judges, who described the wine as “Very well balanced,” “Black currant,” “Shows Grenache really nicely,” with a “really nice mouthfeel.” Located in California’s Paso Robles AVA, Eberle Winery (www.eberlewinery.com) was established in 1979 and now produces up to 15 wines annually. In addition to this year’s top winner, five other Eberle entries earned gold awards or better. This two-pronged East vs. West contest first chooses winners in the separate International Eastern Wine Competition and West Coast Wine Competition (see parameters below), before the top wines from each are pitted against each other in

North Dakota was notably the last state since repeal of Prohibition to license a winery—in 2002! Bordering Canada, it is also one of the many states which have benefited from the extremely cold hardy “Minnesota” grape varieties.  In the past two decades, the local wine industry has benefited from the state Department of Agriculture’s Grape, Wine and Fruit Program as well as the educational and promotional resources of the North Dakota Grape and Wine Association, established in 2006. Its first president, Rodney Hogen of Red Trail Vineyards, was recently elected to that position for a second time this year. Like other North Dakota wineries, that winery’s focus is on several Minnesota varieties along with other fruits. Great Grapes: Frontenac  Specifically recommended for the North-Central regions of the U.S. due to its extreme cold-hardiness (to -30F) and other viticultural assets, Frontenac grapes are typically harvested relatively late at Brix le

The Partnership Will Feature a “Sonoma in the City” Cloud Club Theme & New Wine Region Video Series Building on the success of their partnership which began shortly before Spring Training this year, the Sonoma County Winegrowers and the San Francisco Giants are teaming up for a “Sonoma in the City” theme in the Cloud Club, one of Oracle Park’s private lounges. During twelve (12) home games from August 25 through September 13, the Cloud Club will exclusively feature wines, winegrowers and wineries from the iconic region.  The San Francisco Giants historic hiring of Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein last year established  the team as the first professional sports organization to invest in the wine industry. This partnership underscores the Giants dedication to providing exceptional gameday experiences by cultivating the look, taste and feel of Sonoma County throughout the Cloud Club for all visitors.  “This is an incredible opport

Rodney Strong is a family-owned, award winning winery in Sonoma County that is committed to crafting the best wines and supporting their community since 1959. They pledge to protect and preserve the environment, which is done not only through sustainable farming and winemaking in the vineyards but also with their sustainable packaging solutions. Having been a long-time wine label customer of G3 Enterprises, we knew Rodney Strong’s history of environmental leadership in Sonoma County. When Rodney Strong was presented with the GTREE solution, they became one of the early adopters of GTREE. Rodney Strong has made a positive environmental impact, simply by switching to a label stock made with recycled content. How much of an impact? The GTREE™ labels are made from 100% post-consumer waste or recycled materials that has have at least one useful life before being recycled. Over the years, GTREE™ has proven to be consistently reliable and demonstrated the ability to run e

With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic receding, wineries are increasingly upgrading and modernizing equipment for the vineyard, winemaking, and packaging to optimize and automate more manual processes. Machinery like depalletizers is gaining traction because they play a crucial role in automating the handling of bulk glass. Bulk glass lowers costs and the winery’s carbon footprint by eliminating third-party charges for packing glass into cases before delivery. It reduces the number of trucks (and thus CO2 emitted) by 35 percent or more. Mimi Storts, Senior Director of Planning and Operations at Hess Persson Estates, recently upgraded the Hess Collection bottling line. She explains, “At Hess Collection, we had only one bottling line, and it was nearing its end of life. Quality is number one, so we wanted the new bottling line to maintain that quality and retain our internal quality oversight.” Storts also needed two capabilities the old line didn’t have: to h