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14 WINES&VINES July 2017 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS CABERNET: JASON TINACCI / NAPA VALLEY VINTNERS AUCTION: BRIANA MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / NAPA VALLEY VINTNERS Pacific Rim buys Firesteed winery; Vintage gets brand Howard Rossbach, founder of Firesteed winery in Rickreall, Ore., sold the winery to Pacific Rim & Co. and the brand to Vintage Wine Es- tates. In a related deal, Mickey and Jeanne Flynn agreed to sell their 30-acre Flynn Vineyard, which is adjacent to the Firesteed winery, to Pacific Rim. Rossbach retains the Citation wine brand, 90-acre Firesteed estate vineyard and the 202-acre Erratic Oaks Vineyard. Vintage will buy grapes for the Firesteed program from the estate vineyard and Erratic Oaks through long-term leases. Pacific Rim is using the winery and 30-acre vine- yard for its Rainstorm brand that produces Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Silver Linings rosé. Pacific Rim is owned by the Mariani family that also owns the import company Banfi Vintners. Vintage Wine Es- tates is based in Santa Rosa, Calif., and owns a portfolio of brands. OIV releases global wine production data Jean-Marie Aurand, director gen- eral of the International Organiza- tion of Vine and Wine (OIV), gave a presentation at the World Congress of Vine and Wine in Sofia, Bulgaria, that estimated global wine grape production. According to OIV, 18.5 million acres were planted under vine in 2016, and 83.6 million tons of grapes were harvested the same year. Global wine production totaled 26.7 million liters in 2016, and wine consumption reached 24.1 million liters. The information offered a preview of a report about global vine diversity that OIV will publish later this year. Constellation purchases Napa's Schrader Cellars Constellation Brands announced its purchase of Napa Valley cult Cab- ernet producer Schrader Cellars on June 16. The agreement includes vineyard sourcing, current inven- tories and eight Schrader Caber- net Sauvignons. The company did not disclose terms of the transac- tion. Schrader winemaker Thomas Brown will continue to lead the winemaking program. Congressmen call for WOTUS investigation U.S. Reps. Bob Goodlatte and K. Michael Conway called on the De- partment of Justice (DOJ) to inves- tigate alleged regulatory overreach related to prosecution of a Califor- nia farmer who faces a $2.8 million fine after plowing his wheat field without a permit. The U.S. Attor- ney's Office claimed John Duarte, owner of grapevine supplier Duarte Nursery, disturbed wetland areas in violation of the Clean Water Act. In a letter to U.S. attorney general Jeff Sessions, Goodlatte and Conway asked that the DOJ investigate how the Waters of the United States rule is applied. Entente buys Tabor Hill Entente Spirits, which owns Round Barn Winery, Free Run Cellars and Round Barn Public House in Michi- gan, purchased Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant in Buchanan, Mich. Rich Moersch, winemaker at Tabor Hill for nearly 40 years, is also part owner of Entente, which he founded in 1992. Tabor Hill produces 60,000 cases of wine per year from 52 acres of vineyards in the Lake Michigan Shore appellation. Menu compliance delayed The U.S. Food and Drug Adminis- tration announced it would once again delay the compliance date for mandatory menu labeling, which would require restaurants with more than 20 locations to print calorie information in their menus for food and drinks including wine. Restau- rants now have until May 7, 2018, to comply. Brewer-Clifton acquired by Jackson Family Wines G re g B re w e r, w i n e m a k e r a n d founder of Brewer-Clifton in Lom- poc, Calif., announced that Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Jackson Family Wines purchased the brand and other assets. The sale includes 6 0 a c re s o f e s t a t e v i n e y a rd s , the secondary label Diatom and a long-term lease of the winery. Brewer founded the winery in 1996 with original partner Steve Clifton. Brewer had already sold a major- ity stake in the company to Ken Fredrickson and other investors in 2015. Auction Napa Valley raises $15.7 million The 37th annual Auction Napa Valley, the annual charity benefit held by the Napa Valley Vintners, raised $15.7 million. The total was $1.4 million higher than the 2016 event and topped the $12.2 mil- lion raised by the Naples (Fla.) Winter Wine Festival, the nation's second-largest charity wine auc- tion, in February. Proceeds from the auction benefit Napa County community health and children's education. Raymond acquires adjacent vineyard Raymond Vineyards purchased a 55-acre property with 47 acres under vine in St. Helena, Calif. The Bartolucci family that originally owned the property planted Bar- tolucci Vineyard in 1976. Raymond is part of the Boisset Collection owned by Jean Charles Boisset and produces 300,000 cases per year, according to Wines Vines Analytics. Following the 2017 harvest, Boisset Collection plans to start replanting the vineyard with the goal of having its vines certified organic or Biody- namic—designations the company already has obtained for its estate vineyards. The purchase price was not disclosed. California's 2017 harvest could be light The 500-member Allied Grape Growers cooperative expects the 2017 wine grape harvest will be average or short of the 2016 crop that narrowly squeaked past 4 million tons. While growers in the Central Valley have continued to pull out vineyards in favor of planting high-value tree crops such as almonds, a survey of California grape nurseries revealed 65,000 acres of wine grapes have been planted in the state during the past three years. Barbera and Grenache have been popular plantings as consumer interest in rosé wines has grown. See page 15. Breaking point for Napa Cabernet? With the price per ton for Napa County Cabernet Sauvignon at an all-time high, wine and grape bro- kers are speculat- ing about the end game. Grapegrowers in Napa Valley are pulling out "great" examples of other varieties in order to plant the more lucrative red wine cultivar, and some believe the push to plant will prompt many to grow Cab in less suitable areas, tarnishing the premier location's good name. See page 16. LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com Top Stories The month in perspective