The ninth annual Rich Smith Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions to the American grape and wine industry was presented today to Emily Hodson, the winemaker at Veritas Vineyards and Winery, a co-owner of Flying Fox Vineyards and Winery, and an active leader in the Virginia wine industry. Members of the Smith family and sponsoring organizations present the Rich Smith award to Emily Hodson (third from left). The prestigious award annually reflects the spirit and accomplishments of the late Richard (Rich) Smith, founder of Valley Farm Management and Smith Family Wines in California’s Santa Lucia Highlands wine region in Monterey County. Rich was first and foremost a family man, but also a successful grape grower and winery owner, and a highly respected colleague known for the combination of passion, commitment and collaboration which helped advance the American grape and wine industry. Ever since Rich passed away in December 2015, three organizations—WineAmerica, N

A Global Tasting and Marketing Forum  Hosted by DIAM Bouchage and G3 Enterprises You are invited to the Eleventh Anniversary Celebration of the Annual Wine Conversations: A Global Tasting and Marketing Forum  Complimentary for qualified winemakers, enologists, wine marketers, winery purchasing personnel, and journalists by invitation only. Register to secure your seat at your preferred location for this March 2024 event.  March 5, 2024: Walla Walla Valley, The Marcus Whitman | 10:00am-12:00pm (with optional lunch 12-1pm to follow the program)  March 7, 2024: Napa Valley, The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone | 10:00am-12:00pm (with optional lunch 12-1pm to follow the program)  Register Today!  New & Exciting!  The annual World of Pinot Noir event gathers the planet's foremost Pinot Noir wineries and winemakers, renowned chefs, sommeliers and leading wine scholars in a weekend-long seaside celebration of this delicious and

Afternoon Brief, September 25th

No Signs of a Turning Point Yet for Wine: There has been little change in the trajectory of the U.S. wine market over the past three months...

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

Artifex Wine Co., the leading custom crush winery in Walla Walla Valley, is seeking a Cellar Technician to join our full-time team. As a custom crush winery, we pride ourselves on providing exceptional grape to bottle services for our client wineries. The qualified candidate will have the opportunity to work with some of Washington’s best winemakers to produce a diverse range of brands and wines. The Artifex crew is a group of driven and ambition individuals who love working together. We look forward to bringing you onto the team. See more details and apply here:https://www.wineindustry.jobs/jobs/53110369-cellar-technician-custom-crush-winery-at-artifex-wine-co

Winemakers share a passion for a single goal – making the best wine possible. That’s why, when a winery seeks services from an outside company, they go to the experts. Bringing in expertise is critical when the service is highly specialized, especially when it’s new or infrequently used by the winery or if it’s a complex problem. No winemaker or winery owner wants to lose high-quality product when expert advice could have prevented it. One such service is wine filtration. Wineries often rely on a mobile filtration company to remove the yeast or recover valuable wine from the lees, rescue spoiled or smoke-tainted wine, or undertake de-alcoholization. The company many winemakers turn to for these challenges is Winetech, one of the largest and oldest mobile filtration companies in the US wine industry. Winetech owners, Stefano Migotto and Valentina Guolo-Migotto, both grew up in Northern Italy. Stefano grew up helping in, and eventually leading, the family winery.