Wines & Vines

12 WINES&VINES February 2018 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS RUSSELL RANCH: FORD DENISON Sonoma debuts new sustainability logo Eager to put the pain of the October wildfires behind them, the Sonoma County Winegrowers debuted its new label logo during the group's annual meeting Jan. 11. The logo i n c l u d e s S o n o m a C o u n t y a n d the phrase "Sustainably Farmed Grapes" in the same design theme used for both the Winegrowers' logo and that of the Sonoma County Vintners. Winegrowers president Karissa Kruse said the logo is on the labels of nearly 24,000 cases of wine that are ready for shipment. To date, 92% of the county's roughly 60,000 acres of vines have under- gone a sustainability assessment, and 72% have been certified. More than 1,400 individual vineyards have been certified, and 75 winer- ies also have been certified. Vintage Estates buys Washington winery Vintage Wine Estates of Santa Rosa, Calif., announced Jan. 15 it had acquired 25,000-case Tama- rack Cellars in Walla Walla, Wash. Ron and Jamie Coleman founded the winery in 1998, and its flagship blend Firehouse Red is a nod to the winery's location in a renovated fire- house. Winemaker Danny Gordon will continue in his current position. No purchase price was disclosed. Vintage Wine Estates also closed a deal for the brands Layer Cake, Cherry Pie and If You See Kay on Jan. 2. Bogle requires certification Bogle Vineyards of Clarksburg, Calif., has asked all of its grape contractors to become certified under the Lodi Rules for Sustainable Winegrowing, California's original sustainability certification program for wine grapes. The 2.5-million- case winery reported that by the end of 2017, 92% of its growers had achieved certification. The winery made accommodations for some small suppliers, who might deliver as little as one truckload of grapes during crush. Founded in 1979 in what is now the Clarksburg AVA, Bogle had its 1,500 acres of vine- yards certified under the Lodi Rules system around 2011, when the certification program first accepted producers outside the immediate Lodi area. The winery facility also is certified with Wine Institute's Certi- fied California Sustainable Wine- growing program. Investor purchases swath of Walla Walla AVA California real estate investment trust Farmland LP was the suc- cessful bidder for the 6,000-acre Weidert property on the western edge of the Walla Walla Valley AVA. The massive property went to auc- tion Nov. 10 and was tipped as hav- ing significant vineyard potential as well as opportunities for tree fruits, hops and other crops. Craig Wich- ner, managing partner of Farm- land LP, told Wines & Vines that the company typically adds value to properties by converting them to organic production. "We have several hundred vineyard acres in Oregon: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay," he said. Huneeus Vintners acquires Benton-Lane Steve and Carol Girard, founders of Benton-Lane Winery in the Wil- lamette Valley, sold the 35,000- case winery to Huneeus Vintners of Napa, Calif. The Girards, who will maintain ownership of the prop- erty's 142-acre vineyard, will re- main involved after the sale, which closed last month. Henrys buy Acre winery Mike and Talley Henry purchased Acre winery in the Napa Valley. Founded by Dave Becker and Bob Babbe in 2002, the winery pro- duces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel wines with Napa Val- ley grapes. The company's single- vineyard brand One Acre also was included in the sale. Mike Henry, who most recently oversaw brand management with The Henry Wine Group, will oversee the combined Acre Wines portfolio and manage production and brand develop- ment. Talley Henry, formerly an at- torney with Nixon Peabody and the U.S. Navy, will oversee the winery's direct-to-consumer sales. Babbe and Becker will continue to work with the Acre Wines team, and Richard Bruno is joining Acre as consulting winemaker. FPS increases testing after red blotch discovery The Foundation Plant Services divi- sion of the University of California, Davis, discovered red blotch dis- ease in five grapevines at its on- campus Russell Ranch Foundation Vineyard, according to a letter sent to customers Dec. 20. In response, FPS plans to test Russell Ranch annually for the virus responsible for red blotch disease. Bronco completes shipping facility Having completed construction on a 150,000-square-foot facility for its logistics arm, Bivio Logistics, Bronco Wine Co. of Cerres, Calif., plans to begin rail service Feb. 1. The service will be used to deliver wine to multiple markets for brands with distribution in multiple stores. With a production of 10 million cases of wine per year, Bronco is the sixth-largest wine producer in the United States. Nation's top distributor fined in pay-to-play scheme An investigation by the New York State Liquor Authority revealed sales agents of Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits engaged in a "multitude of violations," from providing gifts to denying certain retailers access to available products at the advertised prices. The alcohol distributor, which is the largest in the United States, was fined $3.5 million by the agency, which also insisted it enlist a corporate compliance officer to monitor suspicious activities within the company. See page 13. TTB considers outlawing use of AVAs for wines made from out-of-state grapes For wineries in regions where grapegrowing is difficult, buy- ing fruit from West Coast grow- ing regions can be the difference between abundant and non-ex- istent grape supply. But leaders of regional associations believe the practice is confusing and misleading to consumers, who expect wines bearing an AVA on the label were indeed processed in that location. This spring, the TTB is considering the divisive issue. See page 14. LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com. Russell Ranch Benton-Lane Winery Top Stories The month in perspective

• Cover