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16 WINES&VINES February 2016 TWE-Diageo deal finalized Treasury Wine Estates completed the purchase of Diageo Chateau & Estate wine group for $600 mil- lion in early January, making the Australia-based firm the owner of Beaulieu Vineyard, Rosenblum Cel- lars, Sterling Vineyards and other wineries. The buyer first announced the deal in October. Stewarts purchase Envolve The Stewart family, owners of the Bacas Family Estates winery group, purchased 5,000-case En- volve Winery in Sonoma, Calif., from the founding team of siblings Mike, Kate and Chris Benziger and partner Ben Flajnik. The Stewarts already own the Lake Sonoma Winery and Valley of the Moon wine brands, Plume Winery and Madrone Vineyards Estate in Glen Ellen, Calif., and Quail's Gate win- ery in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. Mike Benziger and Flajnik established Envolve in 2008 and had operated a tasting room off the Sonoma Square since 2012. Lake Sonoma Winery winemaker, Kat Adams, will assume all future wine- making responsibilities for Envolve. EPA: imidacloprid may be responsible for honeybee collapse The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Jan. 6 that the insecticide imidacloprid is detri- mental to honeybees, which have been in decline for the past decade. According to the California Depart- ment of Pesticide Regulation, the No. 1 agricultural user of imidaclo- prid in California is the wine indus- try, which applied 30 tons to 240,00 vineyard acres in 2013. Lawmakers seek tax relief for Valley Fire victims Businesses impacted by the Valley Fire that burned more than 76,000 acres in Lake County, Calif., would receive additional time to file their taxes if Bill 1559 passes in the Cali- fornia state Assembly. One winery was gutted by the blaze and a handful of vineyards had their pe- rimeters burned. The greatest im- pact to the industry was that roads were closed, making it impossible to harvest grapes in certain areas. Von Strasser acquires Lava Vine Von Strasser Winery, a 4,000-case wine producer in the Diamond Mountain District of Napa Valley, announced Dec. 28 that it pur- chased 3,000-case Lava Vine Win- ery in eastern Calistoga, Calif., from founders Joe and Jill Cabral. The new owners plan to continue Lava Vine's production of Charbono and Petite Sirah from Calistoga, Syrah and Zinfandel from Mendocino County, Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands and more. County raises obstacle to winery project Caryl Hart, director of Sonoma County Regional Parks, effectively put a stop to winemaker Joe Wag- ner's plan to build a 500,000-case capacity winery near Sebastopol, Calif., arguing that Wagner has no legal rights to cross a 9-mile recre- ation trail that separates his vine- yards from the proposed Dairyman Winery. According to Wagner, the trail is the only way to access the vineyard, which is otherwise land- locked by other property owners. Furthermore acquires Graton Ridge San Francisco, Calif.-based Pinot Noir producer Furthermore an- nounced the acquisition of Graton Ridge Cellars of Sebastopol, Calif. Furthermore purchased Graton Ridge's label, tasting room, win- ery and estate vineyard. The Rus- sian River Valley winery produced 1,700 cases per year of table and dessert wines, according to Wines Vines Analytics. Erica Stancliff is the new winemaker for Furthermore. Stancliff has her own label, Trom- betta Family Wines, and is a former member of the winemaking team at CrossBarn winery. JFW buys Oregon offices Jackson Family Wines' bid was accepted by a bankruptcy judge, clearing the way for the company to purchase office buildings in Mc- Minnville, Ore., once used as head- quarters for Evergreen International Airlines for $4.6 million. The acquisi- tion is the latest in a series of deals JFW has made in Oregon. The com- pany owns 1,300 acres in the state as well as the 3,000-case Gran Mo- raine Winery in the Willamette Valley. Santa Barbara wine industry contributes $1.7B Stonebridge Research of Napa, Calif., released its economic assess- ment of the wine industry in Santa Barbara County, concluding that the sector contributes $1.7 billion. High- lights of the report included total winery revenue of $271.5 million, 5,779 jobs created directly, state and local taxes totaling $93.6 million and $101.7 million in federal taxes. The report also stated that a large percentage of harvested grapes are transported to wineries outside the county, which means lost jobs and tax revenue for the county itself. Reservoirs still low in spite of weeks of rain While California wine grape grow- ers cheered the downpours that saturated vineyards this January, water scientists said it is too early to call an end to the four- year drought that has plagued the West Coast. Reservoir water levels are still below average, and the real result of this season's El Niño storms won't be evident until the snow starts melting in the Sierra this spring. And while Paso Robles—a growing area hit hard by the prolonged drought—experienced above-average precipita- tion early this year, areas of the San Joaquin Valley are still lagging short of historic averages. See page 17. Small wineries worry about distributor merger The Federal Trade Commission announced Jan. 4 that it would not block the move by Southern Wine & Spirits and Glazer's Inc. to form the largest alcoholic beverage distributor in the nation. While large wineries could benefit from having an expanded network to move product, small wineries and winery associations have expressed concern that their brands will be shoved out. See page 19. LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com Top Stories The month in perspective Mike, Kate and Chris Benziger