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December 2017 WINES&VINES 19 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS CALIFORNIA New leader for Lake County wineries The Lake County Winery Association an- nounced Maria E. Brunn will be the new execu- tive director to the group's board of directors, effective Nov. 14. She replaces Jill Ruzicka, who took over after Terry Derenuik's retirement in late 2016. Brunn is a graduate of Sonoma State Uni- versity and previously worked at Wines & Vines before joining Sonoma County Vintners, where she served as business operations manager. New president at Wine Market Council Steve Burns will replace John Gillespie as president of the nonprofit trade association Wine Market Council. Burns is the owner of a marketing, public relations and strategic planning firm and former executive director of the Washington Wine Commission, where he served from 1996 to 2004. Gillespie is retir- ing at the end of this month after leading the council for 20 years. Burns began a career in the wine industry in 1990 as the international marketing manager at the Wine Institute. From 1984 to 1989, Burns was special assistant to California Gov. George Deukmejian, participat- ing in the state's expansion in opening trade and investment offices around the world. Seth Kunin dies at 50 Santa Barbara winemaker Seth Kunin, who founded Kunin Wines in 1998 and previously was the winemaker at Westerly Vineyards in Santa Ynez, died Oct. 28 at age 50. Kunin specialized in producing Rhône variety wines and in 2013 launched a second label, Valley Project, as well as a second tasting room. Kunin is survived by his wife, Magan Eng, and an 8-year-old daughter. Harmon named winemaker at Pfendler Justin Harmon is the new winemaker at Pfendler Vineyards, a producer of estate-grown Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines in the Peta- luma Gap area of Sonoma County. Harmon replaces founding winemaker Greg Bjornstad, who will continue to work with Harmon on vineyard management through Bjornstad's new viticulture software startup eVit. Harmon also produces wine under his own label, Argot Wines, and has a chemical engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Rabble appoints president Rabble Wine Co., which encompasses the labels Rabble, Stasis, Amor Fati and Tooth & Nail, named Caine Thompson its new presi- dent. Originally from New Zealand, Thompson was formerly general manager of Locations Wine in Napa Valley. Thompson holds an MBA and was named Bayer Young Viticulturist of the Year in New Zealand in 2009. NORTHWEST Changes at Wine by Joe Wine by Joe/Dobbes Estate Wine in Dundee, Ore., announced several management changes as founder Joe Dobbes is stepping down to focus on his new mobile-bottling venture, Dundee Mobile Bottlers. Gretchen Boock, the first employee Dobbes hired when he launched the winery, is now the chief executive officer. Regional News Visit Us at the Unified Symposium Booth #1520 IF YOU WANT THE BEST, BUY FROM THE BEST. Every day, Wonderful Nurseries follows the philosophy that testing is believing. It's why we confidently offer the cleanest vines in the industry. In line with our "Growers First" philosophy, we have designed every element of our advanced processes & facilities to bring our grower partners peace of mind. This includes our intensive vine testing program, with 100% scion testing for internal mother blocks annually. Our in-house ISO Certified testing lab and built-in safeguards help accomplish this task. When it comes to getting the best in value, selection and cleanliness, Wonderful Nurseries delivers every time, vine after vine. RELY ON THE INDUSTRY'S CLEANEST VINES – 100% TESTED MOTHER BLOCKS © 2017 Wonderful Nurseries LLC. All rights reserved. WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL NURSERIES and the accompanying logos are trademarks of Wonderful urseries LLC or its affiliates. WonderfulNurseries.com 661.758.4777 SERVING THE WINE, TABLE GRAPE, RAISIN AND PISTACHIO INDUSTRIES P.O. Box 279, 27920 McCombs Ave., Wasco, California 93280 Steve Burns