Lumo Partners with Wyatt to Expand and Improve Precision Irrigation for Winegrowers in Napa and Sonoma “Over the years, we’ve evaluated countless irrigation automation solutions. Lumo is head and shoulders above the rest in its simplicity, ease of use, and ability to help growers irrigate to plan. Lumo is the new standard in vineyard irrigation and it’s a solution we believe we’ll see deployed across thousands of acres in Napa and Sonoma.” That’s Tim Goetz, Irrigation Designer at Wyatt Irrigation, talking about why Wyatt and Lumo are launching a new strategic partnership to drive expansion and standardization across the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma. The stats don’t lie. In 2025, Lumo delivered over 650 million gallons of water with block-level precision across 150+ vineyards, including Treasury, JFW, Trinchero, Delicato, Antinori, Chateau Montelena and Clos du Val. Between rapidly rising labor costs and shortages, soft market demand an

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

Sonoma County Vintners (SCV) and Sonoma County Vintners Foundation (SCVF) today announced that Executive Director Michael Haney will step down in September 2025, marking the close of a highly impactful era of leadership and a transformative chapter in the organization’s history.  SCV will be led and supported by its Board, including SCV Board President, Prema Kerollis, General Manager of Three Sticks Winery; and Alexandra O’Gorman, SCVF President, Vice President of Community Relations for Foley Family Wines and Spirits, until a new executive director is identified. “Michael has always led with commitment and heart,” remarked SCV Board President Prema Kerollis. “His passion, relationships, and deep care for SCV, SCVF, and the Sonoma County wine community have left a lasting mark. We are deeply grateful for his tremendous contributions and wish him the very best in his next chapter.”   Over nearly eleven years leading SCV and SCVF

With the U.S. wine industry under pressure from declining sales, shifting consumer trends, and economic headwinds, Sonoma County’s vintners and grape growers are coming together in an unprecedented way to confront these challenges – and chart a positive path forward for the local industry. A steering committee of regional leaders has been formed to explore establishing the Sonoma County Wine Improvement District (WID) to provide stable, strategic funding for the long-term strength and sustainability of Sonoma County’s wine and agricultural economy.  The stakes are high. The marketplace is changing rapidly and maintaining the status quo is not an option. The wine industry is facing challenges like never before which must be addressed to reverse the decline and grow the overall wine category.  This effort is significant and grounded in a fundamental truth: grape growers and vintners are inextricably connected, and the success of one depends on the strength o

Bottling day is more than just a finishing step - it’s a defining moment. The wine you’ve nurtured through harvest, fermentation, and aging is finally ready to meet the world. At Peregrine Mobile Bottling, we don’t just understand that moment - we respect it. We know how much time, labor, and heart goes into making great wine. That’s why we’ve built a mobile bottling service focused on three core values: advanced technology, uncompromising cleanliness, and genuine care. These aren’t just buzzwords to us. They guide everything we do - from the moment we pull up to your winery to the last case we help you stack. Let’s take you behind the scenes of what makes Peregrine Mobile Bottling different - and why more wineries across Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, and San Joaquin counties are choosing us as their trusted bottling partner.Technology That Protects Your Craft Our bottling lines are designed with today’s winemaker in mind: precise, efficient,

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

TLDR If you manage pricing on Excel spreadsheets and email them back and forth, you are in the Stone Age. Modern pricing platforms outshine Excel in many aspects. They offer significantly enhanced accuracy and speed, superior version control, and ensure state-level compliance. These platforms are the key to unlocking wineries' full potential, and they pay for themselves quickly. The good is the enemy of the best This saying from Jim Collins’ 2001 book Good to Great poignantly indicts the state of most wine and spirits companies' preferred method of managing pricing: static spreadsheets that must be emailed back and forth.  Even if you utilize shared drives and shared spreadsheets (i.e., Google Docs and Google Drive), you are still rubbing two sticks together to make a fire when you could be using a blowtorch. Even on their best days, dealing with the 3-tier pricing models is complex and varies from state to state. Collecting, aggregating, and reporting distributor p

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