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24 WINES&VINES April 2016 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS to produce wines for the Tuck Beckstoffer Wines brand as well as the Dancing Hares brand. The Beckstoffers hired Philippe Melka as winemaker and will continue to work with consultants Michel Rol- land and Frederick Delivert. TWE names new leader for Americas Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) an- nounced Bob Spooner is the new president of the Australian com- pany's operations in the Americas. Spooner replaces Sandra LeDrew, who is leaving Treasury after four years with the firm. Spooner joined TWE as chief supply officer in January 2015 and helped shift TWE's sales focus to its luxury and premium brands. Spooner will be based in TWE's offices in Napa. Spooner previously worked at Sara Lee's household and personal care business in the United Kingdom be- fore moving to ICI's paint division as its European supply chain director. Sonoma County Vintners name interim leader Following the resignation of Caro- lyn Stark as executive director of Sonoma County Vintners in early February, the group appointed Jean Arnold Sessions as its interim leader. Sessions was the president of Hanzell Vineyards in Sonoma from 2002 to 2013 and also was a member of the Vintners' board of directors from 2003 to 2009. Citing personal reasons, Stark announced her resignation Feb. 1 after serving in the post for one year. Wine Advocate moves to Napa The journal Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and RobertParker.com launched a redesigned website and established a new office in Napa. The new RobertParker.com allows subscribers to search through more than 300,000 tasting notes. Editor in chief Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW, moved from Singapore to the new Napa office to oversee editorial, marketing and business operations. NORTHWEST King Estate succeeds with AVA change King Estate Winery in Eugene, Ore., successfully petitioned the federal government to expand the Willamette Valley AVA by 29 square miles to include the winery and estate vineyards. The U.S. Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bu- reau (TTB) approved the request March 3. This is the first time since it was established in 1983 that the Willamette Valley AVA has been expanded. While the winery has more than 1,000 acres of vineyard, it sourced most of its grapes from the Willamette Valley. CEO and co-founder Ed King estimates that the 400,000-case winery buys approximately 10% of the state's crop each year. "Maybe it's a bit of an evolution on behalf of King Estate and where Oregon and the Willamette Valley are (that) it does matter to say 'Willamette' at this point,'" King told Wines & Vines. Canada makes grant to support industry The University of British Columbia announced the Canadian gov- ernment granted it $1.5 million (Canadian) to help fund a new partnership with the Kedge Busi- ness School of Bordeaux, France, to support the area's wine industry. The grant funding will support a three-year plan to improve the labeling and presentation of B.C. wines, organize the industry and develop an identity and interna- tional presence for B.C. wine. New director of Global Wine Studies Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash., hired Miranda Porterfield to be director of the school's Global Wine Studies program. Porterfield has worked in sales and marketing for several Washington wineries, holds an MBA in wine business from Bor- Jean Arnold Sessions