Recently, local members of the wine industry in the Napa County area of Northern California have been actively engaged with county government in discussions regarding ways to streamline the winery use permit process. Frustrated with the cost and lengthy time frames associated with the current process, California vintners have been searching for ways to make the permitting process more user-friendly, and a …

Here’s a discovery well worth toasting: A research team led by Professor Brandon Gaut with the University of California, Irvine and Professor Dario Cantu with the University of California, Davis has deciphered the genome of the Chardonnay grape. By doing so, they have uncovered something fascinating: grapes inherit different numbers of genes from their mothers and fathers. Their paper has …

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue this week announced that growers who suffered crop losses due to natural disasters in 2018 or 2019 can apply for assistance through theWildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+). Winegrape growers who suffered losses due to smoke exposure events in 2018 are eligible. The California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) worked with members of …

The mountain vineyards of El Dorado AVA report that Labor Day weekend was largely the beginning of the 2019 harvest season in El Dorado County. According to several El Dorado vintners, this is late by one or two weeks compared to average pick time dates in the AVA. The later start will only enhance a favorable condition in high-elevation vineyards …

The Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) and Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation are proud to announce that a record-breaking $2.32 million was raised at the 12th annual Harvest STOMP, held this past Saturday, August 24th. Thanks to the generous support of sponsors, 100% of donations made during the event go directly to programs that preserve Napa Valley vineyards and provide educational opportunities …

Grape harvest is underway in the southern part of the state and has recently started in the Lafayette area. Most varieties are slightly behind normal this year.  We generally harvest early varieties such as Brianna, Edelweiss and Prairie Star about the third week of August and many other early varieties starting the first week of September. Lately, the weather has …

Atascadero, California, August 27, 2019 – SIP Certified (Sustainability in Practice) has just released a list of new vineyards that have been certified sustainable for 2019. The high-profile group includes six new properties and two long-time members. SIP Certified is one of the wine industry’s oldest and most important sustainability assessment and certification programs. The SIP Certified logo guarantees that …

Five years ago, the Sonoma County Winegrowers (SCW) made a bold declaration to the wine world that its more than 1,800 winegrowers were committed to becoming the nation’s first 100% certified sustainable wine region in 2019. Today, Karissa Kruse, president of the Sonoma County Winegrowers, addressed the local winegrowing community to announce that Sonoma County now has a record-breaking 99%  …

The 2019 Lake County winegrape harvest is underway and growers in the high-elevation winegrowing region are once again pleased with this year’s growing conditions and optimistic about the grape quality. Many of the region’s growers and vineyard managers are anticipating an earlier-than-normal harvest, which was unexpected given the region’s wet spring and relatively cool early season temperatures. However, by midseason, …