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58 W i n e s & V i n e s M AY 2 0 1 4 M A N A G E M E N T I t's probably not surprising that Hugh Reimers, executive vice president and chief oper- ating officer of Jackson Fam- ily Wines, found a career in the wine industry. He grew up in the Barossa Valley of South Australia, and his father was a professor at Australia's most famous winemaking school: the Roseworthy campus of the Uni- versity of Adelaide. Reimers went on to get his bachelor's degree from that university in 1991. In his native country, Reimers worked as winemaker for Orlando-Wyndham and as senior red winemaker for Yalumba. He came to California in 2002 to work with Pacific Wine Partners, which began as a joint venture between Constellation Brands and BRL Hardy of Australia and later became a division of Constellation. Reimers spent a year as chief wine- maker for Constellation Wines before joining Jackson Family Wines in 2009. He was vice president of production services, then president of California pro- duction, and was named to his current post in 2011. As chief operating officer, he over- sees a diverse portfolio that includes brands such as Kendall-Jackson, La Crema, Cam- bria, Stonestreet, Cardinale, Lokoya and several international wineries. Wines & Vines: California's ongoing drought is a big concern in the wine industry. What has Jackson Family Wines done to reduce water use, and what other steps might you take? Hugh Reimers: We recognize that water scarcity is a huge issue for California, and long-term sustainability is crucial to man- aging our resources wisely—including how we use water. As stewards of our vineyards across California (all of which are both SIP and CCSW certified), we implement practices that help us minimize our impact on the environment through water management, best practices in low- impact farming and innovative energy conservation. Some ongoing examples of responsible water management include drip irrigation, so we can control the amount of available water to the vines, delivering just the right amount with pin- point accuracy; using different moisture- monitoring devices (such as soil probes and leaf porometers) to help us use water more efficiently; and increasing the use of wind machines, which circulate air instead of water to protect our vines from damage during frost events. We are also keeping a watchful eye on the drought— although with some recent rains, we are feeling more optimistic about the situa- tion—but that doesn't change our long- standing water-conservation practices. We are also proud to support the new Jess Stonestreet Jackson Sustainable Win- ery Building at the University of California, Davis, which opened in May 2013 and was funded with a multimillion-dollar gift from the Jackson family. It is a hub for experimentation and research, and tests new technolo- gies for making wineries more sustainable through innovations like carbon dioxide sequestra- tion, wastewater capture and rec- lamation, clean-in-place systems and advanced energy-efficiency systems—ultimately helping to advance the whole industry. W&V: Where do you think Cali- fornia stands in regards to a grape shortage or oversupply? How is the company preparing for a possible return to shortages? Reimers: Following record 2012 and 2013 harvests (2013 repre- senting the largest harvest on record), California wine supply is back in balance. Vineyard yields can go up or down by 15% any given year. If we have another short harvest, we could potentially be back in a shortfall position—it always depends on Mother Nature. As the popularity of California wine continues to increase, it is likely that demand will continue to outpace supply, particularly in the premium and luxury wine segments. In addition to grape supply concerns across the industry, there is also a shortage of wine production capacity in the North Coast of California. For exam- ple, the crush across the state increased to 4.25 million tons—or about 300 million cases—but the same growth doesn't exist in capacity at winery facilities; this is a potential issue for the industry. For Jackson Family Wines, part of our acquisition strategy includes strategic vineyard acquisition—focused in the cool- climate and higher elevation vineyards— Winemaker Interview HuGH REIMERs Jackson Family Wines executive says company is in acquisition mode By Laurie Daniel Hugh Reimers joined Jackson Family Wines in 2009.