Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/513570
14 WINES&VINES June 2015 Jackson Family Wines trials Tesla batteries Car manufacturer Tesla Motors revealed the intent to expand of- ferings to include energy storage systems large enough to power entire buildings, saying it tested the technology at Jackson Family Wines (JFW) of Santa Rosa, Calif. Tesla installed 21 of the systems at JFW wineries in California, al- lowing the winemaking facilities to regulate energy use during peak times. Using the Tesla system to store power from existing solar operation, the wine producer stands to reduce its electricity spending by up to 40%, or $2 mil- lion per year. California vineyard acreage grows slightly The number of California acres planted to wine grapes climbed 0.8% in 2014, according to a re- port issued by the National Agri- cultural Statistics Service. Bearing acreage held steady at 565,000, while non-bearing acres jumped 11.1% to reach 50,000. Chardon- nay comprises 15.9% of the total acres planted to wine grapes, while Cabernet Sauvignon repre- sents 14.3% of the total. Duckhorn buys Three Palms Vineyard Duckhorn Wine Co. purchased the 83-acre Three Palms Vineyard in the Napa Valley from Sloan and John Upton for an undisclosed sum. The St. Helena winery has been making a vineyard-designate Merlot from the site since 1978 and contracting to purchase all of its fruit since 2011. Cameron Hughes enters receivership The Superior Court of San Fran- cisco ordered Cameron Hughes Wine into receivership due to out- standing debts. The wine négo- ciant owes $15.3 million to lender Union Bank, according to court filings. Meanwhile, Shanken News Daily quoted a statement from Cameron Hughes Wine saying the company "is not insolvent, and is committed to its business and working with the bank to restruc- ture its debt." Washington wineries welcome portable license Washington state lawmakers ap- proved the creation of a permit that will enable the state's winer- ies to hold off-premise, private events where they may deliver wine purchases, provide tastings of their own wine and sell bottles for off-premise consumption. The new law effectively extends tast- ing room privileges to up to 12 off-premises events per year, pro- vided the events are "not open to the general public" and are for "the purpose of tasting and sell- ing wine of (the winery's) own production." Sonoma Barrel Auction raises $460,000 The first-ever Sonoma County Barrel Auction brought more than $460,000 in bids May 1 for 71 one-of-a-kind lots. Two hundred wine trade buyers and other guests from as far away as Taiwan attended the event, sponsored by the Sonoma County Vintners, where winemakers poured all of the auction lots for a tasting in the morning. The two most expensive lots both sold for $24,000: the Williams Selyem Reverence and a 20-case lot offered as a joint effort from three wineries: Joseph Swan Vineyards, Kosta Browne Wines and Williams Selyem. See page 80 for coverage of the barrel auction preview events held around So- noma County. Kurniawan files appeal Wine counterfeiter Rudy Kurni- awan, who is serving a 10-year sentence for doctoring wines and passing them off as rare and col- lectible vintages of brands such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, filed an appeal of his conviction in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City. His ap- peal alleges that authorities con- ducted improper searches of his property, unlawfully combined charges against him and exagger- ated the financial impact upon his wine buyers. Oregon wineries earn 'B Corp' certification Two Oregon wineries announced April 22, Earth Day, that they had earned B Corp certification, one of the most rigorous sustain- ability certifications in the world. Administered by the nonprofit B Lab based in Wayne, Pa., B Corp certifications entail a series of assessments for treating em- ployees fairly, respecting the en- vironment and benefiting society in general. Winderlea Vineyard and Winery in Dundee, Ore., and Sokol Blosser in Dayton, Ore., join A to Z Wineworks in New- berg, Ore., as the only wineries to earn the certification. LBAM detected in Mendocino County Workers from the California De- partment of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) captured three light brown apple moths near Fort Bragg, Calif., in late April, prompt- ing the CDFA to issue a quarantine in Mendocino County. The area also was under quarantine for the pest between July and December 2014. According to the University of California, "Overwintering lar- vae may feed on (grape) buds; injured buds may fail to develop further. During bloom, larvae may feed on flower clusters. After vé- raison, feeding damage on the berries may allow rot organisms to infect fruit." Idaho wine regions petition for AVA status Petitions for the Lewis-Clark Val- ley and Eagle Foothills viticultural areas were announced in mid- April. If approved, Eagle Foothills would be a sub-AVA of the Snake River Valley, while the Lewis-Clark Valley seeks to be an AVA separate from the much larger Snake River Valley and Columbia Valley AVAs. Achieving this will require shear- ing off approximately 57,020 acres from the 11.3 million-acre Columbia Valley. London-based wine, beer and spirits producer Diageo may sell some of its wine brands, accord- ing to British media outlets. The company, which operates Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards in the Napa Valley, unloaded many of its real estate holdings in 2010 but still owns the brands and leases vineyard and winery space. See page 15. A Washington state water dis- trict cut flows to irrigation canals in May, prompting wine grape grow- ers across the Pacific Northwest to consider their own drought status. Oregon's snowpack was 11% of normal as of May 1, and much of the state was in an "exceptional drought," according to the National Drought Monitor. Growers in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia report being worried about forest fires in light of the 2014-2015 winter, which was the warmest on record. See page 16. LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com Top Stories The month in perspective Winderlea