Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/998810
July 2018 WINES&VINES 17 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS The Gourmet Barrel www.boswellcompany.com • (415) 457-3955 • staff @ boswellcompany.com ECLAT 'gourmet' ECLAT 'gourmet' French barrels are Fr ECLAT 'gourmet' French barrels are rrels ECLAT 'gourmet' French barrels are are the creation of owner Jean-Christophe the creation of owner Jean-Christophe Varron. His 35 years of history and knowledge in the cooperage world led to the innovation of ECLAT. The vision derives from the recognition that new oak barrels should allow the grapes to speak for themselves and help the wine shine. Proprietary ceramic radiant toasting provides uniform cooking deep into the stave wood, caramelizing the wood sugars without smoky characters. ECLAT barrels deliver pure fruit expression to enhance multiple varietals. Use ECLAT on your most important lots to highlight the meticulous work you do in the vineyards to produce the highest quality fruit. For barrel pricing and more information, please contact The Boswell Company at (415) 457-3955 or email staff @ boswellcompany.com. CALIFORNIA Silicon Valley Wine Auction tops $1 million The fourth annual Silicon Valley Wine Auction, hosted by Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Ed- ucation Foundation (SCMWEF) on May 19 and 20, raised more than $1 million for education programs that serve local communities. The two-day event attracted more than 1,000 guests to Eden Estates and Montalvo Arts Center in Sara- toga. The weekend-long event featured 50 local vintners from the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrow- ers Association pouring more than 150 wines. Melka joins Westwood Winemaker Philippe Melka will oversee winemaking at Westwood Estate Winery in what will be the French winemaker's first project in Sonoma Valley, according to a statement by the winery. Melka will be working with Pinot Noir and Rhône variety grapes form the So- noma Valley winery's Annadel Gap Vineyard that is certified organic through Stellar Certification and Demeter Association biodynamic certified. Melka will finish the 2017 vintage wines and will oversee the 2018 vintage with Silverado Farm- ing Company. Phelps hires new president Joseph Phelps Vineyards ap- pointed Clarice Turner as its new president. Prior to joining Phelps, Turner founded and was CEO of Carneros Asso- ciates, a stra- tegic advisory firm guiding vision, strategy and culture for businesses in transition. Pine Ridge promotes assistant winemaker Pine Ridge Vineyards promoted Colleen FitzGerald to assistant winemaker for the winery's white blend, Chenin Blanc + Viognier. In her new role, FitzGerald will lead the vineyard and winery operations under the direction of Michael Beaulac, working with growers in the Clarksburg AVA to make decisions about pruning, vine management, and harvest timing; in the cellar, she will see the wine through fermentation and blending. FitzGerald remains the winery's enologist as well. Sonoma winegrowers hire sustainability expert Sonoma County Winegrowers hired Dana Cappelloni as its new director of sustainability and grower education as part of its effort to become the nation's first 100% sustainable wine region in 2019. In her role at the winegrow- ers, Cappelloni will work directly with growers to achieve certifi- cation and facili- tate continuing education pro- grams on sus- tainable wine grape growing for the Sonoma County grower community. As of January, the winegrowers reported 72% of the county's total wine grape acreage had been certified and 92% had been assessed. New leader for Rhône Rangers The national Rhône Rangers board of directors appointed Kim Murphy-Rodrigues as its new executive director. Rodrigues' ex- perience includes general manage- ment, new business development Regional News Clarice Turner Dana Cappelloni