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14 WINES&VINES June 2018 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS Winery owner, entrepre- neur Leslie Rudd dies Leslie Rudd, founding member of Vintage Wine Estates, died May 3 from esophageal cancer in New York City. He was 76. Rudd was the founder of The Rudd Group, which included Vintage Wine Estates, Covenant Wines and Distillery No. 209 as well as Rudd Oakville Estate, Edge Hill Estate, Oakville G r o c e r y and PRESS restaurant. Rudd also o w n e d W i c h i t a , Kan.-based S t a n d a r d B e v e r a g e Corporation and launched the Rudd Foundation that focuses on educa- tion and health programs. Sonoma auction raises nearly $900,000 The Sonoma County Vintners fourth annual barrel auction on April 20 in Santa Rosa, Calif., raised $840,700, which is 6% higher than the previ- ous year. According to a press re- lease by the vintners' group, more than 500 people attended the event at MacMurray Estate Vineyards to bid on one of 97 unique wine lots. Two lots to rasie funds for the vic- tims of the October 2017 wildfires raised $99,000. Other top lots in- cluded: Pride Mountain Vineyards "Summit Cuvée," 2016 Sonoma C o u n t y C a b e r n e t S a u v i g n o n : $3,400 per case; Benovia Winery, AldenAlli "A Perfect Pair," 2017 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, $2,600 per case and Ramey Wine Cellars, "Single Vineyard, Single Clone Syrah," 2016 Petaluma Gap Syrah, $2,200 per case. Vineyard worker dies in accident The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office identified Franklin Palacios Car- rillo, 34, of Fairfield, Calif., as the worker who died May 1 in a tractor accident in a Sonoma Valley vine- yard. According to reports by the sheriff's office, Carrillo was found crushed beneath a tiller attachment by another vineyard worker shortly before 8 a.m. Deputies who arrived on the vineyard in the 2300 block of Napa Road reported vineyard wires had become entangled in the tiller and Carrillo had been attempting to remove the wire when the at- tachment fell on him. The accident occurred in what is known as the Ar- rowhead Vineyard and is managed by Walsh Vineyard Management. The accident has been referred to Cal-OSHA, which is investigating. Humbrecht joins Phantom Creek as consultant Phantom Creek Estates in Oliver, B.C., hired Olivier Humbrecht as its new winemaking consultant. Hum- brecht is a Master of Wine and the owner and winemaker of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in the Alsace re- gion of France. Phantom Creek is expanding its portfolio to include Pinot Gris and Riesling, and Hum- brecht is expected to be instrumen- tal in helping to select and develop vineyard sites that have the poten- tial for excellence. Humbrecht will also guide Phantom Creek's tran- sition to organic and biodynamic farming practices. The winery's 67 acres of estate vineyards on the Black Sage Bench have been farmed according to organic prac- tices since 2017. Vineyard opponents file appeal The opponents of the proposed Walt Ranch vineyard development in Napa County filed an appeal of a March court ruling that determined an environmental review of the proj- ect was sufficient. The appeal was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club, which contend the project will compro- mise sensitive habitat for vulner- able wildfire, require an excessive number of trees to be removed and impair water quality. The Walt Ranch project would include the development of more than 300 acres of vineyards on the property that encompasses more than 2,300 acres of land between the city of Napa and Lake Berryessa. Kentucky passes DtC law In April, Kentucky Gov. Matt Brevin signed a bill allowing direct-to-con- sumer shipments of distilled spirits and wine in and out of the state. Kentucky wineries can ship up to four cases of wine to a customer who makes the purchase "on site" at the winery or up to 12 cases per year to residents or tourists who join a wine club. The law had been sponsored by the Kentucky Distill- ers' Association that viewed it as a way to bolster tourist spending on Bourbon. Free the Grapes did not support the legislation because of the "on site" provision and backed a different bill that failed to win the support of lawmakers. Despite the limits of the new law, vintners in Kentucky said any move toward allowing more wine shipments is a positive development in a state that's still home to several dry counties. "For us to take this step forward is to take a bite out of the big white elephant in our state. And we're all very happy about that," said Cynthia Bohn, owner of Equus Run Vineyards, a Midway, Ky.-based winery producing 10,000 cases of vinifera and hybrid wines per year. "It's increased our ship- ping capability." Rombauer Vineyards founder dies Koerner Rombauer, the founder of Rombauer Vineyards, died on May 10. He was 83. Rombauer is sur- vived by his wife, Sandy; children Sheana Rombauer and K.R. Rom- bauer III; grandchildren Reagan, Drew, Seth, Lane and Ransome and sister Kay Thornton. After serving in the California Air National Guard, Rombauer was a pilot for Braniff International Airways and moved his family to Napa Valley in 1972. In between his commitments with Braniff, Rombauer began spend- ing time learning about winemak- ing at Conn Creek Winery. In 1980, the family f o u n d e d Rombauer Vineyards, a n d h a r - vested the first grapes — C a b e r- net Sauvi- gnon from the Stags Leap District — in 1980 followed by the first vin- tage of Chardonnay in 1982. Heitz Cellars Sold to Southern Billionaire Napa Valley's venerable Heitz Cellars was sold to Gaylon M. Lawrence Jr., who is a reported billionaire and the principal investor in his family's vast agricultural company, which owns farmland in five states. The deal did not include the famous Martha's Vineyard property which is still owned by the May family. See page 18. Canadian Wine Trade Caught in Pipe Feud A long-simmering dispute between British Columbia and Alberta over plans to build an oil pipeline to the Pacific Coast appears to have been a major factor in a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada that put a chill on direct-to-consumer wine shipments. See page 21. LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com. Top Stories The month in perspective Auctioneer John Curley, left, and the Sonoma County Vintners interim ex- ecutive director Michael Haney. Leslie Rudd Winemaker Ross Wise, left, and Olivier Humbrecht MW, right Koerner Rombauer