Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/543749
14 WINES&VINES August 2015 New pest found in Napa County An adult western grapeleaf skel- etonizer (WGS) was discovered June 24 in a vineyard in Calistoga, Calif., according to the Napa County Agricultural Commis- sioner's office, which said the pest is not native to the area. WGS larvae feed on grapevine leaves but not the veins, leaving behind "skeleton" leaves that provide no shade to protect grape clusters from sunburn. The creature is equipped with long spines that can sting field workers. Privatization attempt cut short in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf ve- toed legislation to privatize that state's government-run alcohol sales structure, meaning the bev- erage alcohol market will remain in the hands of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Wolf cited fear of higher prices and less se- lection as reasons for the decision. Data breach affects wineries Third-party winery point-of-service provider Missing Link Networks/ eCellar was the victim of a data breach this spring, according to founder and CEO Paul Thienes, who released a statement confirm- ing the company was contacting its winery clients. Data exposed during the breach included cus- tomer names, credit card numbers, addresses and dates of birth, Thienes said. Long Meadow Ranch owners buy 145 acres The Hall family, owners of Long Meadow Ranch in Napa Valley, Calif., acquired a 145-acre prop- erty in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County. The property includes 50 acres of Pinot Noir, 17 acres of Chardonnay and 2 acres of Pinot Gris in the "deep end" of the valley near Philo, Calif. Stephane Vivier will serve as winemaker for the Anderson Valley property. Winery seeks to expand Willamette Valley King Estate Winery of Eugene, Ore., submitted a proposal to the U.S. Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to add 29 square miles to the southwestern border of the Willamette Valley AVA in Oregon, near the Umpqua Valley AVA. TTB is accepting comments until Aug. 17. Chateau Julien owners sell landmark property The owners of Chateau Julien sold their winery facilities, tasting room and vineyard in California's Carmel Valley to Folktale LLC, opting to retain ownership of the brand. Greg Ahn, the majority owner of Folktale, also serves as founder and president of Alcohol By Volume, which will move offices to the site now known as Folktale Winery & Vineyard. In addition to the Folktale label, Ahn and his partners plan to launch at least two other labels: Le Mistral and Talking Animals. WCG to take over WITS Wine Communica- tions Group, the owner of Wines & V i n e s a n d W i n e Business Monthly, acquired the Wine Industry Technol- o g y S y m p o s i u m (WITS). Wine Business Monthly also announced its plan to launch a new conference, the Winejobs. com SUMMIT, which will be held Sept. 17 in Yountville, Calif. Board rolls over 75-cent GWSS assessment The Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board announced it would main- tain the same assessment rate for California wine grape growers during the 2015 harvest. Growers will pay 75 cents per $1,000 of crop value to the board, whose members are appointed by Cali- fornia Department of Food and Agriculture secretary Karen Ross. The board collected $2.6 million in 2014. Congress passes TPA U.S. president Barack Obama signed legislation approving the Trade Promotion Authority, which will give Obama and future presi- dents "fast-track" authority to negotiate trade deals with other countries. Under the legislation, members of Congress will be able to vote deals up or down but not change their contents. Nova Scotia opens to domestic DtC Nova Scotia finance minister Diana Whalen announced that residents of Nova Scotia can import Cana- dian wine containing at least 85% Canadian fruit. Nova Scotia is the third Canadian province to open to direct imports. New York, Maryland ban fracking Following the lead of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the New York State De- partment of Environmental Con- servation announced the ban of hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) for natural gas in the state. The practice had been widely disputed by grapegrowers in the Finger Lakes region. Separately, elected representatives from Maryland voted to ban fracking in that state for 2.5 years. Coravin announces funding round Coravin Inc. raised $13.6 million in Series C-1 financing for its Coravin Wine System, which utilizes a needle and pressurized argon gas to allow users to serve wine from a bottle without removing the cork or exposing the wine inside to oxygen. The company plans to use the funding for global market expansion and brand partnerships. Joe Wagner sold his Meiomi wine label to Constellation Brands in a $315 million deal announced in July. Wagner told Wines & Vines it was getting hard to keep up with production demands for the fast-growing brand that had already reached 500,000 cases. The vintner, who will stay on as a consultant for the brand, is a featured speaker at the Aug. 19 Wines & Vines Packaging Conference in Napa, Calif. See page 15. California is not expected to see another record harvest, but with the state's inventory of bulk wine at around 20 million gallons, that shouldn't be much of a problem in the next few years. Two of the state's primary wine grape markets—the North Coast and San Joaquin Valley—are ex- periencing wildly different fates as consumers ditch low-priced wines in favor for those priced more than $10 per bottle. See page 16. LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com Top Stories The month in perspective WESTERN GRAPELEAF SKELETONIZER—JACK KELLY CLARK; CHATEAU JULIEN—JIM GATELEY