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October 2016 WINES&VINES 23 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS manager at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard in Dundee, N.Y. Long Island group awards scholarship The Long Island Merlot Alliance (LIMA) in South- old, N.Y., awarded its first viticulture and enol- ogy scholarship to Long Island resident Miranda Sannino, the daughter of Anthony and Lisa Sannino, who own Sannino Bella Vita Vineyard in Peconic, N.Y. LIMA's scholarship program provides $3,500 annually to a Suffolk County student between the ages of 18 and 25 studying viticulture and enology at Cornell University. Winery honors in New York Keuka Spring Vineyards in Penn Yan, N.Y., won the Winery of the Year award, and Billsboro Win- ery won the Governor's Cup for its 2013 Syrah during the recent New York Wine & Food Classic. The classic drew entries of 893 New York wines, 20 hard ciders and 38 craft spirits. The awards were based on blind tastings by 22 judges. SUPPLIER Mechanics Bank names senior VP Dan Aguilar is the new senior vice president and regional manager of commercial banking for Mechanics Bank. Aguilar will be based in Napa, Calif., and has 20 years of wine in- dustry lending experience. Most recently he served as vice president at Comerica Bank in San Francisco. New R&D specialist at Gusmer Phil Chou joined Gusmer Enterprises as a research and development specialist. Chou is charged with developing new processing ca- pabilities for beer and wine. Chou has worked in the food and beverage industry for several years and will be based at Gusmer's facility in Fresno, Calif. Benchmark adds new staff Kent L. Byrne joined the wine industry recruit- ment firm Benchmark Consulting in Napa, Calif., as senior client development manager, and Kacey Gish is the company's new director of operations. Byre has more than a decade of experience in direct-to-consumer sales and hospitality, and Gish has eight years of human resources experience. Pate joins insurance firm as wine industry expert Janis Pate, a vineyard owner and insurance ex- ecutive, joined Ward Insurance in Eugene, Ore., as lead senior risk specialist focused on the wine industry and agriculture. Pate is the owner of Arlyn Vineyard in Newberg, Ore., and previ- ously oversaw identity theft and privacy protec- tion services for Bank of America consumer operations in Portland, Ore. Western Square hires two sales reps Brittany Hamilton is the new south- ern Central Valley sales representa- tive for barrel rack supplier Western Square, and Shelby Shock was promoted to the post of northern Central Valley sales representative. Hamilton is a former supervisor for North American operations at Heinz Seed. Shock joined Western Square in 2014. New attorney joins Strike & Techel Alana L. Joyce joined the San Francisco- based law firm Strike & Techel, which fo- cuses on alcoholic beverage law. Joyce will work with clients on matters concerning launching a business, contracts, trademarks and regulatory compliance. Prior to joining Strike & Techel, Joyce worked for a Napa Valley law firm. StaVın Inc, P.O.Box 1693, Sausalito,CA 94966 (415) 331-7849 f (415) 331-0516 stavin.com Is a barrel the only way to age a fne wine? Barrel makers would like you to believe that. They'd also prefer you not know that we've fne-tuned the art of oak infusion so deftly that in many blind tastings, experts chose our favors over wines aged in French oak barrels. Surprising, but true. If you make a special wine and are willing to think outside the barrel, now would be a good time to give us a call. ® © 2016 StaVin Inc. Brittany Hamilton