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December 2015 WINES&VINES 23 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS Walla, Wash. The winery announced its consulting wine- maker, Chris Figgins, is handing the reins to McDaniels so he can focus more time on his Leonetti Cellar, Figgins Estate and Toil Oregon projects. Washington State Wine makes hire Melissa Hansen is the new research program manager at Washington State Wine. Prior to joining the organization, Han- sen was the associate editor at Good Fruit Grower magazine. Hansen will man- age WSW's research strategic plan. She also will manage the research proposal review process, sys- tematize the process of research funding and leverage industry research funds. CENTRAL Wine walks legal in Wisconsin A new law allows local chambers of commerce in Wis- consin to hold wine walks to promote regional wines and businesses. The state department of rev- enue had previously ruled such events illegal, but Gov. Scott Walker signed a law in October allowing municipalities to pro- vide temporary alco- hol licenses for wine or beer walks. Oklahomans support wine in grocery stores A recent poll of 500 Oklahoma residents found that 63% sup- port the sale of wine and full-strength beer in the state's grocery stores. That's the highest level of sup- port for wider alcohol sales in the state in years, according to news reports about the poll that was con- ducted by The Okla- homan newspaper and a polling firm. EAST Chateau Morrisette hires winemkaer Brian Smyth was pro- moted to the post of enologist and wine- maker at Chateau Morrisette Winery in Floyd County, Va. Smyth has been with the winery since 2014 as assistant winemaker. Prior to working at Chateau Morrisette, Smyth worked at wineries and vineyards in Or- egon, Australia and Virginia. Mount Hope buys Tamanend Linda Jones McKee and Richard Carey have sold their Lan- caster, Pa.-based Vitis Research firm and L. and R. Wine Co., which produces wine under the Tamanend Winery label, to Mount Hope Estate and Winery in Manheim, Pa. Jones McKee is the Wine East editor for Wines & Vines, and Carey is a regular contributor. Carey will continue to provide winemaking consulting services. SUPPLIER Berlin Packaging buys Diablo Valley Rigid packaging sup- plier Berlin Packaging in of Chicago, Ill., acquired Fairfield, Calif.-based Diablo Valley Packaging in a deal that follows Berlin's purchase of Ohio-based Vivid Packaging in Sep- tember. Berlin reports its purchase of Diablo will help it expand into California, the Pacific Northwest and the food, beverage and wine and spirit markets. Management at Herrick Grapevines Bob Herrick, the owner of Herrick Grapevines nursery in St. Helena, Calif., announced Diego Barison joined the company as general manager and Ofelia Hurtado is the new administration and customer relations representative. Bari- son has more than 20 years of grapevine nursery experience; Hurtado began her career in grapevines in 2009. New rep for Saxco Sylvie Langlois is the new sales repre- sentative for Saxco International's West Coast wine business based in Concord, Calif. Langlois will assume responsibility for existing winery accounts and culti- vate new business in the wine industry. Before joining the glass supplier Saxco, Langlois was a sales executive at Saver- glass Inc. Brian Smyth Call Toll Free: 800-POS-1290 We Pair Well Sell From Anywhere, Manage it Everywhere! Use your mobile device to process transactions, print and email receipts, while tracking sales and inventory. www.alainfouquet.com alainfouquet@aol.com AlainFouquet_Aug06 5/17/06 10:57 AM Page 1