Afternoon Brief: Trump's Promise of Mass Deportations Looms over California's Wine Industry

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to launch what he called "the largest deportation program in American history," targeting more than 11 million people...

Call for samples; tariff discussion; crop round-up Following an October that exhibited summer-like heat spells – including daytime temperatures of 105-106°F and night-times in excess of 75°F – California’s 2024 harvest was essentially complete by November 1st. As well as contributing to a busy end-of-season picking period – and, in turn, some short-term capacity constraints at wineries – the heat is likely to have reduced the final crop size, especially of those (mainly red) varieties still hanging when it arrived. The crop’s size remains extremely difficult to gauge, owing to the high number of variables: A patchy performance across the state this year, the late heat, uncontracted grapes potentially going unpicked, and vineyard abandonments or removals. In the North Coast, Napa and Sonoma tonnages were down from the average; Mendocino and Lake tonnages were more in line. Cabernet appeared to have suffered one of the larger shortfalls in the

WIN EXPO Conference Focus: Business Strategy & Leadership Session Topics: Grape & Bulk Wine Market, Acquisition & Succession Strategies, and No/Low Alcohol Wine Opportunities. Registration is open for the 12th annual North Coast Wine Industry Trade Show & Conference (WIN Expo), the largest wine industry trade event focused exclusively on the North Coast - the most prominent wine region in the United States. The event’s educational conference program includes all the major sectors of the industry covering winemaking & production, sales & marketing, vineyard operations, and business strategy & leadership.  This year's Business Strategy & Leadership track, sponsored by Turrentine Brokerage, will dive into the Grape and Bulk Wine Market Outlook, Winery Exit Strategies, and No and Low Alcohol Wine Opportunities: Planning Your Exit: Maximizing Options for Acquisition or Succession As the wine industry evolves, many winery owners face the in

Afternoon Brief, September 1st

Introducing the Newest AVA in California: Winters Highlands: Winters Highlands has been designated as the newest American Viticultural Area (AVA) by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)...

Afternoon Brief, August 28th

Brock Lindsay of Lake Chelan’s Succession and Alta Wineries Dies at 40: Brock Lindsay, winemaker and co-owner of Succession Wines and Alta Cellars in the Lake Chelan appellation, died August 26th due to traumatic injuries caused by a utility vehicle rollover accident. He was 40-years old...

Like Wine, the TricorBraun WinePak and Ponzi Vineyard Partnership Becomes Finer with Age Wine is nearly as old as time. However, to thrive in this highly competitive industry, winemakers must adapt to modern-day nuances. That is key to the ongoing success of one of Oregon’s premier winemakers. After more than 50 years, Ponzi Vineyards continues to pioneer viticultural innovation while maintaining its commitment to winemaking excellence and environmental stewardship. In 2008, as part of its continuing mission to minimize its environmental footprint — and remain LIVE certified sustainable — Ponzi Vineyards sought to switch to a more sustainable glass bottle for its wines. Unfortunately, their search found that traditional glass producers didn’t have a high-quality, “eco-friendly” option. That all changed when TricorBraun WinePak’s account manager, Gillian Brennan, introduced Ponzi Vineyards to a revolutionary new lightweight, sustainable eco-bot

The 2022 crush came to an end in October following a challenging growing season that saw drought, hailstorms, frost, unseasonably cool, humid or cloudy conditions, heatwaves and rainfall – often in quick succession. In general, it appears the three to four days of rain received in mid-September helped size-up some of the later-season red grapes in some areas, Cabernet being a particular beneficiary. But behind our headline crop estimate – a tentative one of 3.5-3.6 million tons – lurks a high level of output variance between even neighbouring vineyards.  Consequently, generalizing is difficult and this crop assessment – our last before the CDFA’s preliminary grape crush report in February – is anecdotal. It appears that in the Interior, and in Lake and Mendocino counties, tonnages may have come in closer to the average than in Napa, Sonoma and the Central Coast which were harder hit by frost, potentially preventing the state-wide tonnage figure