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6 WINES&VINES August 2016 A member of Wine Communications Group Inc. ADVERTISING Vice President and Director of Sales Jacques Brix jbrix@winesandvines.com (707) 473-0244 West Lydia Hall lydia@winesandvines.com (415) 453-9700, ext. 103 Midwest Hooper Jones hooperhja@aol.com (847) 486-1021 East (except New York) Laura Lemos laura@boja.com (973) 822-9274 New York and International Dave Bayard dave@bayard.com (973) 822-9275 Advertising Production Manager April Kushner april@winesandvines.com (415) 453-9700, ext. 114 DIGITAL EDITION All print subscribers now get digital access to Wines & Vines. You can: • DOWNLOAD pages or full issues • BROWSE current and archived issues • WATCH videos • ACCESS via desktop, tablet or smartphone • SEARCH by keyword or table of contents • NAVIGATE by topic or page thumbnail • QUESTIONS? Contact customer ser- vice at custserv@winesandvines.com or (866) 453-9701 Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. PDT. 36 WINES& PACKAGING Mid-size wineries don't limit themselves to just one style of capsule or closure W CONNECT WITH US CONTRIBUTORS As contributing editor for Wines & Vines, Jane Firstenfeld files weekly news reports on topics ranging from ag labor issues to direct- to-consumer marketing, and six times a year she writes in detail about new products and trends in packaging. In this, the Closures Issue, Firstenfeld tells why many wineries facing multiple choices of closures now choose multiple answers (page 36). As a partner at Hinman & Carmichael LLP, Suzanne DeGalan counsels wineries, distilleries, breweries and importers on distributor relation- ships, drafts and negotiates distribution agreements, and manages distributor terminations and transitions in franchise and open states throughout the country. Her article beginning on page 68 is the second in a two-part series. It explains how wineries can protect their brands in franchise states. In addition to preparing distribution agreements, DeGalan drafts and negotiates a variety of commercial contracts includ- ing grape purchase, bottling and custom-crush agreements; trademark licensing agreements and brand purchase and sale agreements. Richard Carey, Ph.D., is a winemaker and wine consultant in Lan- caster, Pa., who has been fascinated by new technology for the wine and grape industry since he opened his first winery in California in 1977. In his article about GOfermentors (page 76), he reviews a new method for managing the fermentation of small lots of grapes using a sealable plastic bag. Carey used one of the GOfermentors during the 2015 harvest, and in this issue he describes how it works and details its advantages for winemakers. WINESANDVINES.COM AUGUST 2016 TTB Should Help AVAs Focus on Racking Wands Wine East: New Bubble Fermentor Survive Distributor Power Plays MULTIPLE CHOICE NUMEROUS CORRECT ANSWERS FOR CLOSURES WVPACK & WINES & VINES PACKAGING CONFERENCE August 17, 2016 ON THE COVER Wines & Vines graphic designer Rebecca Arnn earned an A+ for her representation of this month's cover story, "Multiple Choice" (page 36), in which contributing editor Jane Firstenfeld interviews winemakers who use a variety of closures to seal the wines in their portfolios. QUESTION FOR AUGUST: What was the best closure decision you ever made? Randle Johnson Winegrower and winemaker Artezin Wines Napa, Calif. In recent memory the best decision I made was moving to DIAM micro-agglomerated cork. It's a relatively recent decision—only about a year old. From a brand/image standpoint, the DIAM really worked; from a quality standpoint it really worked, and from a cost standpoint it worked. I'm very confident in their lack of TCA. Nova Cadamatre Director of winemaking Canandaigua Winery Canandaigua, N.Y. Even though I really like screwcaps for early drinking wines, I still prefer natural cork for wines meant to age. For our 240 Days Riesling, we went with natural cork. We made this decision based on my experiences with aged whites and how they develop complex tertiary aromas under cork more easily than under screwcaps. Steve DeCosta Lead winemaker O'Neill Vintners & Distillers Parlier, Calif. I have had to change from a technical cork closure to a screwcap for increased performance for the wine maturity and limiting any TCA formation due to poor quality material for the cork closure.