Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/573907
8 WINES&VINES October 2015 A member of Wine Communications Group Inc. President & Publisher Chet Klingensmith Chairman Hugh Tietjen Publishing Consultant Ken Koppel Associate Publisher Tina Vierra Publishing Assistant Maria Brunn EDITORIAL Editor Jim Gordon Managing Editor Kate Lavin Associate Editor Andrew Adams Senior Correspondent Paul Franson Contributing Editor Jane Firstenfeld Northwest Correspondent Peter Mitham Columnists Grapegrowing: Cliff Ohmart and Glenn T. McGourty Contributing Writers Laurie Daniel, Richard Smart, Richard Carey, Chris Stamp, Andrew Reynolds, Craig Root PRACTICAL WINERY & VINEYARD Editor Don Neel WINE EAST Editor Linda Jones McKee DESIGN & PRODUCTION Art Director Barbara Gelfand Summer Designer Bridget Williams DATABASE DEVELOPMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Vice President—Data Management Lynne Skinner Project Manager Liesl Stevenson Database & Web Development James Rust, Peter Scarborough EDITOR'S LETTER TWO MAJOR WILDFIRES raged through important California wine regions as this issue went to press Sept. 16. The Valley Fire in Lake County and the Butte Fire in Amador and Calaveras counties rushed right to the edges of vineyards, destroyed at least one winery and forced thou- sands of residents—including vineyard and winery employees—to flee their communities. The Wines & Vines staff extends its thoughts and sympathies to everyone in those areas af- fected by the fires. We hope for a quick containment of the flames and a rapid recovery afterward. The smoke needs to clear before the full extent of damage to the wine business is known, but at press time the Valley Fire had already burned 70,000 acres, destroyed 585 homes and hundreds of other structures, according to the state's Cal Fire agency. The Butte Fire had burned 71,780 acres and destroyed 233 residences plus other structures. Please read the news coverage on page 17. In practical terms, the worst effect for growers and winemakers may have been that the fires blocked roads essential for hauling grapes to crush pads. Also looming over the 2015 vintage is the potential for smoke taint in wines made from grapes that may have had smoke exposure for an extended period of time. The fires of 2008 in other parts of California showed to what degree smoke aroma and flavor can get into affected wines (i.e., a whole lot) and also spurred lots of experimentation about minimizing and removing them with technology. Winemakers in Anderson Valley and Alexander Valley in particu- lar will have some good advice about smoke taint for their colleagues in Lake, Amador and Calaveras counties. Also, on Wines & Vines' new MOG Blog, associate editor Andrew Adams recently posted a helpful guide to online articles about smoke contamination and how to treat it. Go to winesandvines.com/blog and search for the post "Research on Smoke Taint and Treatments." Kay Bogart, director of the VENSource program at the University of Cali- fornia, Davis, Department of Viticulture & Enology, put together the collection of links. On behalf of our whole staff I want to thank everyone who attended and supported the second annual Wines & Vines Packaging Conference in August. The event drew 370 people to Napa for a day of educational sessions, tastings and a trade show, and we had great backing from the sponsors, exhibitors and high-profile speakers who participated as well as the winery staff mem- bers who registered. If you missed the conference, you can still get a sense of what happened by reading the article on page 43 that covers the keynote talk by Joseph Wagner and a lively panel discussion by leading wine package designers. Also, check out the Faces & Forums feature on page 82 for photos of some of those who attended. Since this is our third annual Bottles & Labels Issue, the content from the conference fits in well with Jane Firstenfeld's cover story, "Bottle-Label Combos That Hook Buyers," on page 34. A truly amazing array of new glass and labeling options is now available to the wine industry. Firstenfeld's article focuses on wineries that are pushing the envelope of wine packaging with the help of forward-thinking designers and by using the new materials and techniques. It bears repeating that making wine of high quality and good value is not enough to succeed. You still need to sell the wine, and package design is the essential interface with your customer. —Jim Gordon Fire Challenges California's Wine Grape Harvest The fires of 2008 spurred experimenta- tion about minimizing smoke's effects on wine, and removing them with technology. CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS Email: subs@winesandvines.com Online: winesandvines.com/subscribe Phone: (866) 453-9701 EDITORIAL Email: edit@winesandvines.com MAIL 65 Mitchell Blvd., Suite A San Rafael, CA 94903 CONNECT WITH US facebook.com/WinesandVines twitter.com/WinesandVines youtube.com/WinesandVines1919