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14 W i n e s & V i n e s J U n e 2 0 1 4 J U N E N E W S Top Stories The month in perspective DtC efforts directed at Massachusetts and Pennsylvania Direct shipping legislation has been included in a Massachusetts state budget bill for 2014, mark- ing a promising attempt at legaliz- ing DtC wine shipments in a state where carriers won't deliver wine due to licensing requirements. Meanwhile, allies of direct ship- ping in Pennsylvania are lobby- ing for privatization of the control state or a change to regulations that allow only farm wineries to ship wine. See page 20. Paso suit moves to San Jose Santa Clara County, Calif., will handle a lawsuit filed by Stein- beck Vineyards and other prop- erty owners regarding the Paso Robles groundwater basin. A Superior Court judge approved the change of venue request, which was agreed to by defen- dants including the city of Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, Atascadero Mutual Water Co. and the Templeton Community Ser- vices District. Freeze causes Texas vineyard damage Primary buds were the casualties of a mid-April spring snowstorm at some vineyards in the Texas High Plains winegrowing region. The damage was particularly disheartening for Texas growers who saw monumental damage in May 2013, when a frost event dubbed "The 100-Year Freeze" damaged up to 80% of vines in some areas. TTB suspends growler ruling Weeks after publishing TTB Rul- ing 2014-3, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) suspended the decision related to growlers sold for off- premise consumption after wine industry representatives argued, "The ruling would unduly burden the businesses who sell wine growlers in states where such sales are permitted under state and local law." The TTB expects to issue a new ruling after invit- ing comments from industry, con- sumers and regulatory agencies. California acreage increases The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated Cali- fornia's wine grape acreage for 2013 at 570,000 acres, with 525,000 acres bearing fruit. Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvi- gnon were the wine cultivars with the most bearing acreage, post- ing 94,854 acres and 79,805 acres respectively. San Joaquin County is home to the most bear- ing acres of wine grapes (70,191 acres), followed by Sonoma County (59,359 acres) and Napa County (45,437 acres). Small B.C. wineries want equal representation On the heels of an announcement that the British Columbia Wine Institute will undertake a gover- nance review, small and mid-size wineries are calling for an equal voice on the organization's board of directors. Currently small and medium-sized wineries have two representatives on the board, while the province's large wineries are represented by three directors, a discrepancy that has caused tension among members of the voluntary group's 138 member wineries. See page 19. CDFA board clears path for red blotch funding Designating vine mealybug, brown marmorated stink bug and red blotch-associated virus to be wine grape pests, the Pierce's Disease/Glassy-Winged Sharp- shooter (PD/GWSS) Board made it possible to allocate board funds to research the issues and provide grower outreach. Future outbreaks of the pests may now be met with quick response by the board (an advisory group under the California Department of Food and Agriculture), pro- vided such efforts do not detract from work to eradicate PD/GWSS. Chandler exits WineAmerica Effective May 15 Mark Chandler stepped down as executive direc- tor of WineAmerica, the national association of U.S. wineries. Chandler's one-year contract with the organization expired in Feb- ruary, and he worked the follow- ing months "to conclude some important business matters," ac- cording to a news release. Former KJ winemaker crowdsources $1 million Wine consultant Scott Peterson, formerly of Santa Rosa, Calif.- based Kendall-Jackson, obtained more than $1 million in funding for his own label through the nakedwines.com crowd-fund- ing platform. Peterson hopes to launch eight wines totaling 2,500 cases per year. The first wine sold out after being released to Naked Wines investors. The use of recycled water in vineyards ventured into largely uncharted territory in May as the Sonoma County town of Healdsburg offered free treated municipal wastewater for area grapegrowers to use with their drip irrigation systems. Water re-use has been popular in the wine industry for years, but the California city's offer goes beyond merely re-using winery wastewater and instead proposes to repurpose water from the city sewer system. See page 15. The post-recession rush of acquisitions shows no sign of let- ting up. From a Champagne powerhouse snapping up a California still wine producer to a premium Oregon winery buying vineyards to secure its own grape supply, deals were popping up like Easter lilies during April and May. Transactions spanned California and Oregon winegrowing regions. See page 16. The large number of clusters flowering in California vineyards has some industry analysts wondering if the generally accepted fore- cast for a small to mid-size 2014 harvest was made prematurely. But if the state does register a third above-average crop, do wineries have the space to accommodate it? See page 17. The Healdsburg Water De- partment is offering treated wastewater for drip irrigation. LATeST NeWS More detail on the news at: winesandvines.com JEFF VANUGA/USDA Preston Vineyards fills jugs of Guadagni at farmers markets.