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18 WINES&VINES January 2017 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS Huneeus buys St. Clement from Treasury Huneeus Vintners purchased the St. Clement Vineyards winery, tasting room and estate vineyard from Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) in late November. TWE retained ownership of the brand, and nei- ther party revealed the sale price. St. Clement Vineyards produces 25,000 cases in the St. Helena AVA, according to Wines Vines Analytics. Huneeus owns Faust and Quintessa Vineyards in the Napa Valley and VML Russian River Winery and Flowers Vine- yard & Winery in Sonoma County. The company made headlines earlier this year for selling The Prisoner wine brand to Constella- tion for a reported $285 million. Crimson buys portion of Seven Hills Vineyard Seven Hills Winery and its owner, the Napa, Calif.-based Crimson Wine Group, announced its pur- chase of a portion of the original Seven Hills Vineyard planted in 1980. The acquisition is 109 plant- able acres including 21 acres of the Seven Hills Vineyard and 14 acres in The Rocks District AVA. "I planted this vineyard alongside my father six years before my wife, Vicky, and I founded Seven Hills Winery," said winemaker Casey McClellan, a fourth-gener- ation farmer in the news release announcing the acquisition. "My family has a long history of work- ing with these blocks, and it's a personal pleasure to reconnect this special land with the winery that we have built." FPS announces new grapevine releases Foundation Plant Services (FPS) at the University of California, Davis, announced new grapevine selections during a meeting Dec. 1. The vines include three culti- vars from Croatia, several red and white wine grapes from Greece and seven vinifera grape variet- ies from the Republic of Georgia. FPS also is continuing to grow its collection of California Heritage Selections, which have added two Carignane vines planted in the 1880s as well as a Cinsault and a Mourvedre. FPS will release the selections for nurseries to propa- gate and offer to vineyards. Arizona DtC license now available Arizona opened its virtual borders for direct-to-consumer (DtC) wine shipments from producers of any size. Previously only "farm winer- ies" with annual production of less than 20,000 gallons were al- lowed the privilege. The new 17W licenses must be renewed yearly, and the annual fee is $225. Appli- cants must also have an Arizona Transaction Tax (TPT) number in the state, which requires monthly tax reports, even if no sales are recorded. The state emphasizes that the TPT license may take six to eight days for processing, and it must be in place prior to processing the 17W license. Pay- ment of the $225 must be made in advance. Cameron Hughes Wine for sale Cameron Hughes Wine was placed for sale by William Brink- man of Jigsaw Advisors, who was appointed as its receiver by the Superior Court of San Francisco, according to Wine Industry Insight. The receiver was soliciting bids with the hope of closing a deal by the end of January. Scammers target alcohol producers The California Department of Al- coholic Beverage Control (ABC) reported that someone claiming to work for the agency is contact- ing licensees to collect money for a fine. The department does not make such calls and warned win- ery employees not to give credit card numbers over the phone. Those who receive such a call are asked to contact the ABC with any identifying information about the caller, such as their name and contact information. Phylloxera detected in Colorado The Colorado Department of Ag- riculture (CDA) announced that Phylloxera was detected in the state's Grand Valley AVA. The state agency said it was working with the vineyard owner to contain and eradicate the pest and was con- ducting "extensive surveying" to "determine the scope of the infes- tation." Colorado is home to 150 vineyard owners and 1,000 acres of vineyards. "Hopefully we caught this quickly enough to protect Colorado's grape crop," said Laura Pottorff, the CDA nursery and phy- tosanitary program manager. Deal for Constellation's Canadian brands closes The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan's purchase of Constellation Brands' Canadian wine assets closed in mid-December. The deal included Inniskillin and Jackson- Triggs brands and properties, among others, for $1.03 billion Ca- nadian ($786 million U.S.). Distributor consolidation New York distributor Domaine Se- lect Wine & Spirits purchased Unity Selections and Il Castagno Dis- tributors, according to a report from Shanken News Daily. The new acquisitions, both based in Denver, Colo., will be consolidated to form Local Merchants of Colorado. Rains alleviate but don't end California drought Days of mid-December rainstorms pushed rainfall totals above average in several parts of California's North Coast, but the majority of the state remained in drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Moni- tor. After hopes of El Niño putting a stop to years of drought fizzled in 2016, water specialists hoped once again that winter storms would put a dent in the problem. See page 19. Restaurant sales slow, but wine unscathed When news of slow- ing restaurant sales broke in December, many in the wine industry wondered whether on-premise wine sales would follow suit. As it turns out, the down- turn has been most acutely felt in the fast-food and fast- casual dining cat- egories, for which wine does not play a major role in sales. See page 20. LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com Top Stories The month in perspective PHYLLOXERA: JOE BOGGS / THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY Phylloxera causes galls on vine leaves and roots.