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18 Wines&Vines January 2015 Court dismisses suit defending direct shipping New York State Supreme Court Justice George Ceresia dismissed a lawsuit filed by wine retailer Empire Wine arguing that the state Liquor Authority had acted outside its juris- diction by threatening to revoke the company's license for shipping to states that ban direct wine shipping. In his 11-page ruling, Ceresia said, the New York State Liquor Author- ity "possesses abundant statutory authority to commence and maintain a license revocation proceeding." Wineseum fundraising for 2016 opening T h e C a l i f o r n i a W i n e M u s e u m changed its name to Wineseum and launched a capital campaign to raise $5.5 million in prepara- tion for the 2016 opening of its 14,000-square-foot space in Santa Rosa, Calif. In addition to exhib- its, Wineseum will include a tasting area, theater and other features. Cocaine discovered in imported wine shipment U.S. Customs and Border Protec- tion officials discovered a duffel bag containing 35 pounds of cocaine in a container marked as containing 1,050 cases of Australian wine. The container, discovered at Port New- ark (New Jersey), originated in Aus- tralia and was transferred from one cargo ship to another in Panama. 'Land of Promise' grounds for lawsuit Charles and Diana Karren filed a lawsuit against Domaine Carneros alleging that the California sparkling wine producer committed trade- mark infringement by labeling the vineyard designate La Terre Prom- ise Pinot Noir after its 177-acre vineyard. The Karrens own a 50- acre vineyard called Terra de Pro- missio on the Sonoma Coast. Both vineyards were planted in 2002 and mean "Land of Promise." The Karrens trademarked their name in 2007, and Domaine Carneros filed for a trademark in 2009. Massachusetts releases direct-shipping application The state of Massachusetts pub- lished a seven-page application for wineries interested in shipping directly to consumers within the state. Starting Jan. 1, eligible winer- ies may ship up to 12 cases of wine to individual consumers in Massa- chusetts, which does not require sales tax but does ask that wineries pay excise taxes through Mass Tax Connect. Download the application at mass.gov/abcc. Benziger siblings take ownership of Envolve Sonoma, Calif.-based Envolve Winery, which gained national at- tention in 2011 when co-founder Ben Flajnik starred in the ABC re- ality show "The Bachelor," is now owned by Kate and Mike Benziger. The siblings now hold controlling shares in the winery, which Mike Benziger originally launched with childhood friends. Jamieson Ranch Vineyards keeps disputed name The legal dispute between Califor- nia's Jamieson Ranch Vineyards of Napa, Calif., and Irish Distillers Ltd., the maker of Jameson Irish Whis- key, regarding their similar names has been settled. Bill Leigon, presi- dent of Jamieson Ranch, said the settlement came after Jamieson, which produces 20,000 cases of wine primarily under the names of Whiplash, Light Horse and Reata labels, gave assurances that it is not in the spirits business and does not plan to be. He declined to re- veal the details of the settlement. OWRI to expand university-owned vineyard The Oregon Wine Research Institute is preparing to plant an additional 2 acres at the 26-acre Woodhall Vineyard property near Alpine, Ore., already home to 3.5 acres of vines. The institute plans upgrades that include a new deer fence, septic field and research and teaching fa- cility for Oregon State University. (see page 24.) FPS dates California red blotch to mid-1900s Deborah Golino, director of Foun- dation Plant Services at the Univer- sity of California, Davis, revealed at the group's annual meeting that Grapevine Red Blotch-associated virus has been in Sonoma County for at least 74 years. The disease was identified on vineyard speci- mens collected between 1937 and 1950, according to Golino. B.C. food stores to sell alcohol Starting April 1, grocery stores in British Columbia will be allowed to sell alcoholic beverages, provided they can prove 75% of their sales come from food. Stores must be at least 10,000 square feet, according to the new regulations, which also state that private retailers and gov- ernment-owned stores will pay the same price for wholesale alcohol. Starbucks details wine sales expansion Starbucks Coffee announced plans to expand its Starbucks Evenings program, which includes wine sales after 4 p.m., to hundreds of its cafes in 2015. Outlining its five-year plan, the Seattle-Wash.-based giant said it expects to extend the program to 3,000 U.S. locations (or a quarter of its domestic cafes) by late 2019 for a profit of about $1 billion. Heavy rainfall soaked California in mid-December, sending seasonal precipitation totals north of average for the first time in recent memory. But water experts warn that it will take months—if not years—for the state to recover from three years of drought that have plagued the agriculture industry and worried grapegrowers in the state responsible for more than 90% of domestic wine production. See page 19. Several factors colluded to create an unfavorable environment for San Joaquin Valley grapegrowers during harvest 2014. Some reported seeing prices for fresh grapes on the spot market as low as $200 per ton. Economic experts believe the low prices could drive wine grape growers out of the business as demand—and pay—for tree nuts seems especially promising. See page 20. 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