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JANUARY NEWS News Briefs Wines & Vines welcomes news items from wineries, vineyards and industry suppliers located in the wine regions of North America. Send us your latest news by emailing edit@winesandvines.com. Items may be edited for clarity and brevity. J.D. Harkey of Drake Enterprises in Temecula was elected secretary. Ryan Metzler of Fruita del Sol in Fresno was re-elected as treasurer. Nat DiBuduo, president of Allied Grape Growers, and Carson Smith of Carson Smith Farming in Fresno were re-elected as CAWG at-large directors. Promotion at Kelly Fleming Wines CALIFO R N I A Ca' Momi purchases Carneros vineyards The Ca' Momi Napa Valley wine company announced its purchase of 10.5-acre and 9-acre vineyards in the Napa County part of the Carneros AVA. The 10.5acre vineyard consists of Pinot Noir vines planted in 1973. The other vineyard is planted to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot. The Pinot Noir vineyard, which Ca' Momi purchased from winemaker Kent Rasmussen, is permitted for a winery and tasting room. Details: camomiwines.com. Castle Rock Winery names director of winemaking Eric Laumann is the new director of winemaking at Castle Rock Winery in Geyserville. Laumann holds more than 30 years of winemaking experience and most recently was general manager and winemaker at Monterey Wine Co. in King City. Laumann replaces the winery's consulting winemaker, Joe Briggs, who is retiring to pursue other interests. Details: eaglerockwinery.com. Luna Vineyards appoints new president and CEO Andre Crisp is the new president and CEO of Luna Vineyards and The Luna Collection in Napa. Crisp, a former Andre Crisp Silicon Valley entrepreneur, joined Luna Vineyards in early 2012 as partner and president. According to a statement released by the winery, Crisp was picked by Luna Vineyards' founder Mike Moone to be his successor. Details: lunavineyards.com. Treasury, Accolade sign deal on production and packaging Treasury Wine Estates, which has offices in Napa and owns Beringer Vineyards and other wineries, formed a partnership with Accolade Wines North America to provide winemaking 28 W in e s & V i ne s January 20 14 services at Treasury's Asti winery in Cloverdale and packaging services at Treasury's bottling center in Napa. Both corporations are headquartered in Australia and have entered into similar agreements in Australia and the United Kingdom, according to a statement released by Treasury. Bottling began in November, and production at Asti will start this year. Lambert Bridge names new CEO Mike Gilfillan is the new CEO of Lambert Bridge winery in Healdsburg. Gilfillan is the former cochair of YankeeNets (now Yankee Global Enterprises) and former co-owner of the New Jer- Mike sey Devils professional Gilfillan hockey team. He is the son-in-law of Lambert Bridge owners Patti and Ray Chambers. Gilfillan is assuming the responsibilities of Greg Wilcox, who announced his retirement Nov. 1. Details: lambertbridge.com. Rosenblum opens tasting room Rosenblum Cellars opened a new wine-tasting lounge in downtown Healdsburg. The winery had operated a Healdsburg visitors' center at one time, but the space was closed in 2008. Owned by Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, Rosenblum Cellars will continue to operate its tasting room in Alameda. Reb ecca George was promoted to the post of winemaker at Kelly Fleming Wines. George had been the assistant winemaker at the winery for more than two Rebecca years. In addition to George working at other wineries in California, George has worked at wineries in France and Australia. She holds a bachelor's degree in viticulture and enology from University of California, Davis, and in 2005 won the Confréie des Chevaliers du Tastevin Fellowship to work in Burgundy. Retiring ag commissioner honored Napa County Ag Commissioner Dave Whitmer received the inaugural Ed Weber award from the Napa Valley Grapegrowers association. Whitmer, Dave who has held the comWhitmer missioner's post since 1994, retired Dec. 28. The Ed Weber award honors individuals or organizations providing superior service, research or advocacy between the public and private sectors. Weber was a longtime Napa County farm advisor until his sudden death in 2007. A celebration honoring Whitmer's tenure will take place Jan. 11 at the Napa Valley Expo. CAWG elects board chair The California Association of Winegrape Growers elected Heidi M. Scheid, senior vice president of Scheid Vineyards Inc. in Salinas, as the association's chair Nov. 7. Scheid takes over for Mendocino County grower Bill Pauli, who held the position for two years. Heidi Scheid joined her fami- Scheid ly's company in 1992. The CAWG Board also elected Aaron Lange of LangeTwins Family Vineyards and Winery in Lodi and Dennis Wittchow of LentBurden Farming in Oakdale as vice chairs. Lake County winery group names executive director Terry Dereniuk is the new executive director of the Lake County Winery Association. Dereniuk and her husband own Cat's Paw Vineyard in Kelseyville, Terry Dereniuk and for the past two years she worked with the Lake County Winegrape Commission as program manager, authoring the petitions for the recently approved AVAs of Big Valley District and Kelsey Branch. Details: lakecountywineries.org.