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14 WINES&VINES September 2017 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS HARVEST: ROBB MCDONOUGH/NVG Duckhorn acquires Calera Wine Co. Duckhorn Wine Co. of Napa Valley acquired 45,000-case Calera Wine Co. of Hollister, Calif. The sale includes the Calera winery, brand, tasting room, estate vineyards and all inventory and assets. The sale also includes Calera's Selleck, Jensen, Reed, Mills, Ryan and de Villiers estate vineyards in the Mt. Harlan AVA totaling 85 planted acres. Calera will continue to pro- duce its portfolio of wines at its seven-level, gravity-flow winery in Hollister. All key personnel, includ- ing winemaker Mike Waller, will remain with the winery. Josh Jen- sen, who founded Calera in 1975, will continue to remain involved at Calera and will join the Duck- horn Wine Co. Board of Directors. Duckhorn was founded in 1976 by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn and was purchased by TSG Consumer Partners from the investment firm GI Partners in 2016. Wine sales at issue in NAFTA negotiations Trade officials from the United States, Canada and Mexico began the first rounds of nego- tiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Aug. 16. Members of the U.S. wine industry have criticized reg- ulations in some Canadian prov- inces that appear to favor sales of local wines to the detriment of U.S. imports. In British Columbia, for example, some grocery stores sell B.C. wines, while bottles from outside the province can be sold only through adjacent loca- tions, prompting a complaint to the World Trade Organization. Similarly, non-government-owned corner stores in Quebec are per- mitted to sell only wines bottled in the province. Adelsheims divest from winery David and Ginny Adelsheim sold their stake in Adelsheim Vineyard to Jack and Lynn Loacker, co-owners of the 40,000-case winery in New- berg, Ore. Founded in 1971 in the Chehalem Mountains, Adelsheim Vineyard boasts 192 acres split between six vineyards, according to Wines Vines Analytics. Total Wine owner to run for Congress David Trone, co-owner of Total Wine & More, announced his candidacy as U.S. representative for Maryland's 6th District. Trone hopes to fill the seat of U.S. Rep. John Delaney, who is planning a presidential bid in the 2020 election. Trone, a Democrat, previously launched a campaign to serve as representative for his state's 8th District. Total Wine & More is based in Potomac, Md., and has 157 stores across the country. Gallo acquires Germain-Robin E. & J. Gallo Winery of Modesto, Calif., announced it had purchased Germain-Robin, California's first luxury brandy. The acquisition in- cludes the Germain-Robin brand, the inventory of aged and aging brandies and all finished goods. Germain-Robin was established in 1982 by Ansley J. Coale Jr. and Hubert Germain-Robin. Coale and Joseph Corley (Hubert Germain- Robin's apprentice and current Germain-Robin distiller and cellar- master) will remain involved in the business. Distributors in Pa. bribery scandal to pay $9 million Five distributors have been ordered to pay a combined $9 million after investigators discovered the com- panies giving gifts to employees of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board that oversees that state's alcohol sales. James Short Jr., who was the PLCB's marketing director, was convicted in 2015 of accepting meals, vacations and gift cards from distributors between 2000 and 2012. He is currently awaiting sentencing. Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits of Pennsylvania, Breakthru Bever- age of Pennsylvania, White Rock Distilleries and Pio Imports agreed to the deal in exchange for federal prosecutors agreeing not to press charges. Herzog expands holdings to Lake County Herzog Wine Cellars of Ventura County, Calif., has purchased 83 acres in the Lake County AVA. The company acquired an 18-acre Sauvi- gnon Blanc vine- yard in Kelseyville, Calif., as well as a nearby 65-acre site that will be planted to Cab- ernet Sauvignon. The company aims to build on the success of its first Lake County Cab- ernet Sauvignon, a 2014 vintage pro- duced on a leased vineyard under the Herzog Special Re- serve label. Herzog is owned by 200,000-case Royal Wine Corp. of Oxnard, Calif. Duarte settles case John Duarte, owner of grapevine supplier Duarte Nursery of Hugh- son, Calif., agreed to a settlement with the U.S. government, which had charged him with violating the Clean Water Act by plow- ing a wheat field in 2012 (see "Grapegrowers Applaud WOTUS Rollback" in the April 2017 issue of Wines & Vines). As part of the agreement, Duarte agreed to pay a $330,000 fine and buy $770,000 in vernal pool mitigation credits. The government originally as- sessed Duarte with a fine of more than $8 million. Harvest begins for 2017 vintage Though picking for sparkling wine got off to a later start than the previous year, many producers of California bubbles began crushing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for the 2017 vintage during the first week of August. Wineries reported greater incidence of mildew following a wet winter, but wine grape brokers said they expected an average size crop with good quality. The spot market for wine and grapes was incredibly tight, as most wineries came into harvest with growing contracts in place, although some varieties such as Zinfandel were available. See page 15. LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com Top Stories The month in perspective Calera's gravity-flow winery Harvest at Domaine Carneros