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14 WINES&VINES November 2018 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS California wineries refuse North Coast grapes Some wineries refused to accept grapes from vineyards in California's Lake and Mendocino counties that were subjected to wildfire smoke during the growing seasons. Grow- ers reported that wineries including big buyers Treasury Wine Estates and Constellation Brands rejected grapes due to wildfire smoke, cit- ing contract clauses that they said gave them the option. Wine Busi- ness Monthly reported that the con- cern about smoke exposure also came as the industry is poised for a larger-than-average harvest and at a time where there's already limited demand for bulk wine and grapes. 2018 harvest going smoothly in Napa Valley The Napa Valley Grapegrowers and Vintners organizations were very bullish on the 2018 vintage mid- way through the harvest period. "A very even bloom was followed by a rapid veraison this year and to date our ripening period has been void of extreme heat which will allow for some extended hang time and great phenolic maturity in the fruit," said Paul Goldberg, director of operations at Bettinelli Vineyards and president of the growers group, in a recent state- ment. He said that the 2018 grow- ing season has been marked with steady, moderate weather patterns that mean uniformity in ripeness for grapes across the valley. Northwest wine regions hone identities Northwest wineries are taking steps to strengthen their sense of place, pursuing conjunctive label- ing while at the same time creating new sub-appellations that refine consumers' understanding of their regions. Oregon proposals seek to further regulate use of the Wil- lamette Valley AVA name on wine labels as well as content require- ments. Conjunctive labeling would require the name of the Willamette Valley AVA on wines identified by one of the valley's seven approved sub-AVAs. Earlier this year British Columbia recognized Kootenays, Lillooet, Shuswap and Thompson Valley as legally protected geo- graphical indications (GI) for B.C. wines. The sub-GI of Okanagan Falls was approved this summer, a n d t h e N a r a m a t a B e n c h a n d Skaha Bench wineries have sub- mitted sub-GI proposals. Michigan removes ban on retailer shipments A federal judge in Michigan ruled Sept. 28 that the state's ban on out-of-state retailers shipping wine directly to Michigan con- sumers was unconstitutional. If the ruling stands, Michigan resi- dents will be able to purchase w i n e f ro m s t o re s a n y w h e re i n the country and have it shipped to their homes. While a U.S. Su- preme Court decision in 2005 in the Granholm vs. Heald case permitted out-of-state wineries to ship to consumers in the state, authorities continued to consider retailer shipments illegal. Supreme Court to hear Tennessee retail case The question of out-of-state retail- ers shipping wine legally to Ten- nessee consumers may get the Supreme Court's attention. The court agreed to hear the case of Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association v. Byrd during its next session. The dispute in question is about whether a state is allowed to have a residency requirement for alcohol retailers and wholesalers, or whether the 21st Amendment effectively bans this. Tennessee law can prevent out-of-state retail- ers and wholesalers from obtaining a license if the owner or company has not been a resident for two years. Proponents of retailer di- rect shipping hope that the court will also take a broader look at the rights of in-state versus out-of- state retailers. California bill eases social media restrictions A bill signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown in late September al- lows wineries to use social media more openly to promote events hosted by retailers that will feature their wines. State legislators from wine-producing counties and the Napa Valley Vintners trade group had pushed for the legislation. "Tied-house" laws have tradition- ally limited wineries from advertis- ing events being held by the retail tier. The new bill liberalizes the rules so that a winery can, for example, post a photo of a restaurant or wine shop in its social media promotions and include contact information for the retail business. Utility cuts electricity to prevent fires A year and a week after the begin- ning of the devastating wildfires in Napa and Sonoma counties, the re- gional power company used a very unusual tactic to prevent new fires from starting in similar conditions to those of Oct. 8, 2017. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) pre-emptively cut the electricity to numerous rural communities in seven Northern California counties Oct. 15 and 16 as the weather forecast called for extremely low humidity and high winds. During similar weather the year before, several PG&E power lines came down in the wind and were blamed for igniting at least some of the fires. No sizeable wild- fires were reported in the affected areas during the outage. Wine industry feels ups and downs of trade war The Trump administration won a small but symbolic victory for U.S. wineries against a trade barrier in the No. 1 export market, Canada, but triggered another setback for wineries selling to the No. 5 export market, China. Meanwhile, the administration's trade dispute with China put kinks in the pipeline for vendors who serve the wine industry, notably relating to equipment made with imported steel. (See page 16.) Wineries fearing smoke taint reject Oregon grapes Large wildfires this past summer near vineyards in California, Southern Oregon and the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia caused wineries to look more closely at fruit they had contracted to buy from these areas. Some wineries chose to reject the grapes. The most contentious of the cases saw the rejection of more than 2,000 tons of grapes from south- ern Oregon with an estimated value of $4 million by Copper Cane LLC, the Rutherford, Calif., vintner simultaneously fending off allegations of breaching Oregon labelling regulations with its Willametter Journal and Elouan brands. (See page 18.) LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com. Top Stories The month in perspective NAPA VALLEY VINTNERS Napa Valley Willamette Valley OREGON WINE BOARD