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DECEMBER NEWS In the News Original reporting that covers the latest wine industry news in North America. Read breaking news every business day at winesandvines.com. NEWS BYTES Truett-Hurst sales up 5% T ruett-Hurst Inc. (Nasdaq: THST), based in Healdsburg, Calif., released its fi- nancial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2014 ending Sept. 30. The company reported net sales increased 5% from $5.2 million to $5.4 million and expects its packaging innovations, new brands and its switch to Southern Wine and Spirits will drive sales and market expansion. The company's direct-to-consumer sales grew 24%, and it reported a gross profit margin The Pheasant Ridge property was divided into four different parcels for auction. Winery Sold at Auction Pheasant Ridge Winery in Texas brings in $710,000 L ubbock, Texas—Pheasant Ridge (each approximately 250 feet deep) to irWinery in Lubbock fetched a total rigate the vines. of $709,682 at auction Nov. 6. Both the third and fourth parcels have There were 14 registered bidno water source, and the buyer must ders among the 50-plus people who atdrill new wells. The third parcel of 32 tended the auction, conducted by the acres sold for $23,338, and the fourth auction house Williams & Williams, at parcel with 30 acres went for $35,882. the winery facility in the Texas High Currently this land is either tilled or Plains AVA. Additional bidders took unimproved. part in the sale online. According to Amy Bates, presiwinesandvines.com The 122-acre property indent of BuckinghamBates Global Learn more: Search keywords cludes approximately 35 acres Marketing, a management con"Pheasant Ridge." of vineyard and was divided sulting company that works with into four parcels for the auction. One the auction house, Williams & Williams bidder bought the first two parcels for a will not disclose the names of the successtotal of $650,460, and a second bidder ful bidders until the sale is completed in bought both the third and fourth parcels 30 days. for a combined $59,220. However, Bates did tell Wines & Vines The first parcel of 11 acres sold for that the purchaser of the winery and vine$500,000 and included the 5,800-squareyard property plans to continue to operate foot winery building, which has a tasting the facility as a winery. room, showroom, office, barrel room and The buyer of the third and fourth parcels wine-production area as well as the winery has not determined what he or she would equipment and wine inventory. Some Cabdo with the land. ernet Sauvignon and Sémillon grapes are Bobby and Jennifer Cox originally planted on this parcel. planted the vineyard at Pheasant Ridge The second parcel sold for $150,460 Winery in 1979 and started the winery in and included 49 acres, the vineyard 1982. William E. Gipson, a geologist who equipment and the bulk of the vinewas president of Pennzoil Offshore Gas yard acreage. The vineyard—one of the Operators in Houston, Texas, became the first in Texas to be planted with vinifowner of the winery in 1992. Gipson is era grapes—is comprised of Cabernet now retired, and the family decided to Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, find a new owner for the winery by sellMerlot, Ruby Cabernet, Chardonnay ing it at auction. and Chenin Blanc. It has two water wells —Linda Jones McKee 16 W in e s & V i ne s D EC E M B ER 20 13 of 33% of net sales, which is 1% over the first quarter of the 2013 fiscal year. Sustainable Program diSsolves T he 2012 vintage appears to be the last for the Oregon Wine Board's Certified Sustainable Wine Program, which was intended to bring multiple sustainable certifications under one logo. Launched in 2008, the program aimed to make it easier for consumers to find sustainable wines and clear up the confusion between different entities that certify sustainable products. Staff changes had left the program in limbo, and the board decided recently to end its support of the program and grant its remaining revenue of $10,600 to Low Input Viticulture and Enology (LIVE). WSU starts wine science center C onstruction has begun on the Wine Science Center at Washington State University's campus in Richland, Wash. The $23 million project in the state's TriCities area is intended to foster research that will support Washington's growing wine industry. The 39,000-square-foot, LEED silver certified building is expected to be completed by 2015. WSU's fundraising campaign for the center has pulled in $19 million, but the project still needs $2 million in construction funding and another $2 million to equip the building.