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14 WINES&VINES October 2018 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS Early urban winemaker Kent Rosenblum dies The founder of Rosenblum Cel- lars and Rock Wall Wine Company died on Sept. 5 at age 74. Kent Rosenblum was a veterinarian with a passion for home winemaking, especially Zinfandel winemaking, when he founded Rosenblum Cel- lars, an urban winery in Alameda, Calif., in 1978. His full-bodied, ripe style of Zinfandel and other reds from old-vine vineyards through- out California soon caught on with consumers and the winery grew rapidly. Rosenblum was one of the few Zinfandel-focused brands that grew big enough to attract corpo- rate interest, and he and his wife Kathy, along with numerous share- holders, sold the winery to Diageo in 2008 for a reported $105 million. Rosenblum then founded Rock Wall Winery, also in Alameda, with daughter Shauna Rosenblum, who became the winemaker. Ruling could mean air quality controls for winery tanks A settlement in a Santa Barbara County dispute may lead to more jurisdictions requiring small and medium-size California wineries to install ethanol emission controls on indoor, closed-top tanks. A de- termination affecting such tanks in sizes up to 30,000 gallons is now posted on the California Air Resource Board's clearinghouse. This means other air districts may use it as a basis to require wineries of a similar type to install ethanol emission controls, according to an article on winebusiness.com. Wine Institute settled the case out of concern for the operational needs of a Wine Institute member but is seeking to prevent the requirement from being adopted in other juris- dictions until further research can be done. Mendocino-Lake fires char 410,000 Acres The Mendocino Complex wildfires in Northern California were 93% contained at press time, after burn- ing 641 square miles since they ig- nited on July 27. The complex was originally identified as two fires. The Ranch Fire spread from Men- docino County quickly east into Lake County where it threatened the towns of Upper Lake and Nice but did not destroy any wineries or significant numbers of grapevines. The Ranch Fire then fanned out into the Mendocino National Forest and became the most widespread wild- fire in recorded California history. The River Fire started a few hundred yards from vineyards near Hopland in Mendocino County and spread to Lake County where firefighters kept it from entering the towns, orchards and vineyards on the west and south sides of Clear Lake. Washington auction raises $4.2 million The Auction of Washington Wines held its 31st annual charitable wine events at Chateau Ste. Mi- c h e l l e w i n e r y i n Wo o d i n v i l l e , Wash., Aug. 16 to 18. The event raised more than $4.2 million, sur- passing the original goal to raise $3.6 million this year. Events in- cluded a private barrel auction, a winemaker picnic and barrel auc- tion, winemaker dinners, a char- ity walk and run and a gala with live and silent auctions. Proceeds from the events benefits Seattle Children's Hospital and Washing- ton State University's viticulture and enology program. Napa growers auction reaches $2.04 million The Napa Valley Grapegrowers celebrated its 11th annual Harvest Stomp on Aug. 25, with a sold- out crowd of 575 guests, raising more than $2.04 million. Proceeds from the event directly support the organization's ongoing efforts to preserve and promote Napa Val- ley's vineyards and the profes- sional development and education of Napa Valley farm workers. This year's event featured five, 1-ton lots of grapes as auction lots, and was hosted by Frog's Leap own- ers Tori and John Williams at their Galleron Vineyard. Fetzer celebrates 50th and launches brands Fetzer Vineyards of Mendocino County, Calif., marked its 50th a n n i v e r s a r y S e p t . 1 3 w i t h t h e theme of 'Cultivating Change' that highlights the company's many achievements in sustainability and brand innovations. The 2.8 million-case winery is introduc- ing a new label, Fringe Collective, that will include a luxury Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Bien Nacido and Sonoma Coast vine- yards, and Fetzer Flatbed Red, the first line extension for Fetzer since the 1990s. Fetzer is promoting its certified zero waste and carbon neutral production facility that operates on 100% green power, featuring a new state-of-the-art bottling line and recycling and composting program. Premium West Coast properties continue to sell Significant merger and acquisition activity among premium and luxury- priced properties continued in the West Coast wine industry in late summer. Napa Valley's Long Meadow Ranch announced it was acquiring Napa icon Stony Hill Vineyard on Spring Mountain, which makes 5,000 cases averaging $42 per bottle. The Huneeus family, owners of California wineries Quintessa Vineyards, Faust, Flowers Vineyards & Winery and Oregon's Benton-Lane Winery, bought 86 acres of W. Clark Swanson's vineyard property in the Oakville AVA of Napa Valley for approximately $38 million. The Swanson Vineyards property and winery, now owned by Vintage Wine Estates, was not included in the deal. In Oregon The Great Oregon Wine Co., a division of Denver-based Integrated Beverage Group, announced it had purchased 70,000-case Duck Pond Cellars for an undisclosed sum. (See page 15.) Cooper's Hawk winery and restaurant chain expands With grapes sourced from around the world, modestly priced wines and more than 30 restaurants focused on the experience of pairing wine with food, Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant has gathered a dedicated following of wine consumers — and piqued the interest of the American wine industry. Founder Tim McEnery has experienced rapid success since opening the company's first location in 2005 in Orland Park, Ill. Now, the dual winery-restaurant boasts 32 locations spread across nine states and a wine club with 300,000 members that continues to grow at a rapid 25% every year. (See page 66.) LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com. Top Stories The month in perspective Stony Hill Vineyard