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June 2015 WINES&VINES 23 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS will be responsible for all opera- tions at the Phelps family's estate vineyards and wineries including Freestone Vineyards on the So- noma County coast. Before joining Phelps, Burton was the director of North Coast operations for Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines. New winemaker at Swanson Robin Arkhurst is the new wine- maker at Swanson Vineyards in Oakville. Chris Phelps, who was director of winemaking for 12 years, will stay at the winery as winemaker emeritus. Arkhurst will oversee day- to-day winemaking while working with Phelps and assistant wine- maker Tony Herrera. Arkhurst first came to Napa Valley for the 2009 harvest, during which he worked with Thomas Rivers Brown at Out- post Wines. For the past four years, Arkhurst has been the assistant winemaker for Carter Cellars. Growers group reports sustainability progress The Sonoma County Winegrowers announced in April that more than half of the county's nearly 60,000 acres of vineyards have undergone a sustainability self-assessment. The winegrowers group is leading an effort to see all of the county's vineyard acreage certified as sustainable by 2019. According to SCW, the self-assessed acre- age has reached 58% (or 34,346 acres) that are now in the process of earning certification. (A self- assessment is the first step toward earning a sustainable certification by groups such as the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.) New GM at Artesa Susan Sueiro is the new general manager at Artesa Vineyards & Winery in Napa. Sueiro joins Artesa after more than 10 years at Vine- burg Wine Co. in Sonoma, where her most recent post was vice president for strategic planning, marketing, direct sales and opera- tions for Gundlach Bundschu and Bartholomew Park wineries. Madrone Vineyards names new president Tyler Galts is the new estate presi- dent of Madrone Vineyards Estate in Glen Ellen. Galts comes to So- noma Valley from British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, where he was a key leader in the development of Quails' Gate Winery. Madrone Vine- yards Estate is part of Valley of the Moon Winery, and both are part of Bacas Family Estates winery port- folio, which is owned by the Stew- art family of British Columbia. Tony Stewart is the chief executive of- ficer of Bacas, which also includes Quails' Gate Winery, Lake Sonoma Winery and Plume Napa. Hock launches consulting business After eleven years as the wine- maker at Schramsberg Vineyards in Napa, Keith Hock has left the winery to launch his own consult- ing project, Hock Wines. Hock's clients include the Piper Sonoma brand, Skywalker Vineyards, Tognetti Family Winery and Rou- baix Vineyards. He is consulting on sparkling and still wine projects. Green medal winners The California Sustainable Wine- growing Alliance, California Asso- ciation of Winegrape Growers and other groups announced the win- ners of the inaugural "Green Medal" to honor the sustainable business practices of California wine and vineyard companies during an April 10 ceremony at the University of California, Davis. Honors went to Fetzer Vineyards of Ukiah, Benziger Family Winery of Glen Ellen, Napa, Calif.-based Nord Vineyard Ser- vices and Trinchero Family Estates in Napa Valley. Keith Hock Sam Burton