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14 WINES&VINES June 2017 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS Repair worker killed at Sutter Home winery A 56-year-old pipefitter and welder working on the roof of Sutter Home Winery in St. Helena, Calif., was killed May 4 when he fell 16 feet. The man, identified as Daniel Mario Colombo, worked for Applied Pro- cess Cooling Corp. and was re- pairing the refrigeration system at the time of the accident. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is conducting an investigation. Frost and hail plague European vineyards Frigid April temperatures caused frost damage in French and Ital- ian winegrowing regions. Parts of northern Italy reported hail dam- age, while vignerons in Bordeaux compared frost events to the de- structive spring of 1991. Vineyard owners employed heaters, helicop- ters and wind turbines to combat temperatures, which dropped as low as 27° F in some places. Parts of Germany, England and Spain also reported vine damage. Sonoma Barrel Auction nets $100,000 more The Sonoma County Barrel Auc- tion held April 21 raised $795,500, $100,000 more than the previous year, according to the Sonoma County Vintners, which hosted the event. More than 250 members of the trade bid on the lots, which are created each year specifically for the barrel auction. A 20-case lot of Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir offered by Kosta Browne drew the highest bid at $60,000. Silver Oak Cellars (Cabernet Sauvignon), Williams Se- lyem Winery (Pinot Noir) and Ramey Cellars (Chardonnay) also offered top-performing lots. Money raised by the auction supports the efforts of Sonoma County Vintners. Delicato to expand Delicato Family Vineyards of Man- teca, Calif., is planning a three- phase expansion that will add 731,128 square feet of buildings, a tank farm and wine-processing cellar in the next 15 years, ac- cording to the Manteca Bulletin. Delicato currently produces 9.5 million cases of wine per year at its properties, which also include Black Stallion Estate Winery in Napa, Calif., and Alba Coast Win- ery in Modesto, Calif. New ag secretary takes office U.S. Supreme Court associate justice Clarence Thomas swore in Sonny Perdue as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture on April 26. Perdue served as Georgia governor from 2003 to 2011. On May 11 he an- nounced creation of a new position: undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. Dehlinger Estate Vineyard expands holdings The owners of Dehlinger Estate Vineyard in Sebastopol, Calif., pur- chased Stiling Vineyard, an adja- cent property planted to 35 acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the Dehlinger family announced May 2. The site was once part of Garbro Ranch, which was known for berry and apple production. Don Stiling bought the property in 1986 and developed it from 1988 to 2005. The Dehlingers will fulfill existing grape contracts and use some of the fruit from Stiling for their own 6,000-case wine brand. Pennsylvania considers leaving liquor business Members of the Pennsylvania state House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill that would divest the state from the alcohol whole- sale business. The legislation is being considered by the state Sen- ate's Law and Justice committee, although it is unlikely to come to fruition because Gov. Tom Wolf has said he doesn't approve of such a move. Sam's Club launches private wine label Sam's Club, a member- s h i p - b a s e d re t a i l c l u b owned by Wal-Mart, will offer four private-label wines under the name Member's Mark. The re- tailer plans to launch two additional wines under t h e s a m e l a b e l . T h e move is viewed as an attempt to compete with Costco's line of Kirkland wines. Sam's Club has 47 million members and 660 stores, while Costco has 85 million members and 727 warehouse stores. Trinchero announces partnership Trinchero Family Estates of St. Helena invested in nearby Neyers Vineyards, which was founded in 1992 and produces 15,000 cases per year, according to Wines Vines Analytics. Founders Bruce and Barbara Neyers specialize in Old World-style wines that sell for be- tween $25 and $100 per bottle. The investment follows Trinchero's acquisitions of Ziata Wines and Mason Cellars in 2016. California wine sales set record California wine shipments hit a new record in 2016, according to the San Francisco-based Wine Institute of California. Shipments reached $34.1 billion, a 4.6% in- crease over 2015. Total shipments totaled 285 million cases, includ- ing 283 million cases in the United States, an increase of 2%. Cali- fornia wines make up 90% of U.S. wine exports. With $685 million in winery revenues, the European Union was the top market for U.S. wine exports in 2016, followed by Canada with $431 million. Wine industry veterans announce sales and acquisitions Michael David, Sil- ver Oak and Krupp Brothers were among the list of California wineries to announce purchases in recent weeks, with one sale enabling another in s o m e c a s e s . M i - chael David of Lodi, Calif., will take over the Alexander Valley winery vacated by Silver Oak Cellars, which re- cently acquired Ovid Vineyards of Napa Valley. Meanwhile, Krupp Broth- ers Winery owner Jan Krupp, who recently sold Stagecoach Vineyard in a deal worth $180 million, purchased Kitchak Cellars (above) and its 10-acre vineyard. See page 15. Coincidence or a trend in the making? The first part of the 21st century has seen a large number of Chinese businesses and individual buyers invest in the North Coast wine industry, but mergers and acquisitions experts warn against calling the develop- ment a trend just yet. The latest overseas buyers are largely interested in lifestyle properties and not the large production wineries of years past. See page 16. LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com Top Stories The month in perspective Sonny Perdue