Bloom reports from Chateau Ste Michelle:

Merlot blooming at our Canoe Ridge Estate vineyard in Eastern WA!

In this video from the PD-GWSS board, Fred Rinder, deputy agriculture commissioner for Fresno County, shows how they're tracking and mitigating the bugs in Fresno. GWSS, of course is a carrier for Pierce's Disease.

We just sent our July 2013, otherwise known as the Technology Issue, to the printer! This issue is all about the tools that will make the jobs of winemakers, vineyard managers and tasting room managers much easier.

Here's a sneak peak:

Lance Cutler led an industry roundtable with three Napa and Sonoma winemakers, who talked about how technology has revolutionized the way the cellar works.

Mark Beringer of Artesa Vineyards & Winery said: "[New technology] allows you to use your time wisely. I would rather be out in the vineyard tasting grapes or tasting from fermenters than pushing a bunch of paper. It allows me to look at things quickly, make decisions and make adjustments, and then move on, so in that sense it may help you make better wine. You get more sleep during harvest with these systems."

Charlie Tsegeletos of Cline Cellars said: "Without these systems we’d be doing a lot more calculating and putting in a lot more hours. Just figuring out composition alone would be more difficult. These things will track a barrel of wine even if you spread it around to 20 different tanks. Everything you do is represented down to .0001 percent."

Theresa Dorr offers a comprehensive review of all the factors a tasting room should consider when choosing their wine club software. Nearly 20 companies' products are compared.

Curtis Phillips walks you through tank controls, and discusses what we learned about the topic from our 2013 Equipment Survey respondents.

Plus plenty more!

You'll have to wait until July 1 to see the full issue, but you can get your subscription now!

On May 11th, 2013, Ken and Diane Wilson partnered with the Sonoma County Farm Bureau on an event set up to help send vineyard workers’ children to college. The Wilson Artisan Wineries’ Children of the Vineyard Workers Scholarship Fundraiser took place at Soda Rock Winery in Alexander Valley.

This 12th annual event themed, "Pack Your Bags," drew 150 attendees. Vineyard workers from throughout Sonoma County were encouraged to have their children apply for this scholarship, and 22 students have now been awarded money for the 2013-2014 academic year. All students will receive their scholarships this summer in time to aid with tuition, books, enrollment fees, etc.

Vasquez Sisters, Scholarship recipients
 

In the Virginia Wine Lover's newsletter, it was announced that Chateau Morrisette has reached a five-year agreement to export their wines to China with a sale of more than 1,150 cases. Frank C. Britt, publisher of the newsletter stated that this is "an initiative that grows the wineries' presence in the global marketplace...an exciting time for Virginia wine!"

The winery partnered with the Tianjin Commodity Exchange Company Limited (TJComex) to bring about new export sale opportunities. The partners will work to establish and promote the Chateau Morrisette brand in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

According to George Weldon, General Manager of Chateau Morrisette, "The Tianjin partnership is an integral step toward implementing our long-range strategy of increasing distribution both domestically and internationally. This five-year contract firmly positions Chateau Morrisette on the global stage as Virginia's premier winery and it serves as a testament to the quality wines produced by our winery."

We received news about a new winery in South Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada. With almost a half century in helping establish the Canadian wine industry, Harry McWatters is launching another new venture.

With the start of his 46th vintage, Harry McWatters is honoured to launch TIME Estate Winery. The place - Sundial Vineyard, the time - first planted with grapes in 1964. In the almost 50 years since those grapevines were originally planted, this premium land: has been the site of the famed Becker Viticulture Project, experienced the NAFTA Grapevine Pullout Program, and the locale of one of the first and largest plantings of Bordeaux varietals in Canada. Now almost a half-century later, this property is one of the most highly acclaimed vineyards in the country that will see a future with a marquee winery producing handcrafted wine reflecting the unique terroir of the Black Sage Bench.

In 2011, TIME Estate Winery obtained its winery licence, using the existing building on the vineyard, and produced its first vintage of Meritage and Chardonnay. Architect Nick Bevanda of CEI Architecture was then selected to design the future winery. The working model of the winery includes production capacity in excess of 30,000 cases, an extensive hospitality centre (including a commercial kitchen), four luxury guest suites and a lap pool, all with stunning Valley and Lake Osoyoos views. When completed, the winery will focus on almost entirely Bordeaux style premium wines created from the estate vines.

The TIME Estate Winery releases include a red Meritage for $29.99, a white Meritage for $25 and Chardonnay for $27.99.

The Paso Wine Man is back this June with "Is That a Pinot in Your Pocket"

A piece on Missouri Riesling came across the news desk today from Westphalia Vineyards:

Missouri Riesling wine was once widely available in the United States, but virtually all vines were destroyed at the onset of Prohibition in 1919. Considered an extinct, Native American grape, Westphalia Vineyards rediscovered a vine at the National Agricultural Experimentation Center at Cornell University that had been planted in 1890. Thanks to Thomas Jefferson, Cornell University was given the mission of preserving every American grape species.

Westphalia Vineyards started with five cuttings in 2005 and have now propagated this unique varietal to over 500 healthy vines. This year Westphalia Vineyards will bottle the first Missouri Riesling in nearly 100 years. We call this experiment “Renaissance,” the rebirth of Missouri Riesling, a Native American grape varietal. Production of this estate grown release is limited to just 40 cases.
 

The 2013 Wine Industry Technology Symposium keynote speakers have been announced:

Award-winning serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, and former U.S. Army Green Beret Larry Broughton will share his insights on transforming ordinary teams into extraordinary ones	Jonathan Good, Senior SMR Solutions at Oracle will deliver a keynote speech on "Developing a Social Relationship Management Strategy in the Wine Industry."	Miles Ward, Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services will deliver a keynote address about how Amazon is building the next generation platforms that are literally transforming how software and services are delivered.

 To register for WITS, click here.

The Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Foundation (SVVGF) awarded $10,000 in scholarship funds to the college bound children of Sonoma Valley Winery or Vineyard employees.

This year's scholarship recipients and their affiliations include:

Ruben Armenta, Archbishop Hanna High School - La Prenda Vineyard Management

Joshua Banks, Maria Carillo High School - Chateau St. Jean

Halli Dobson, Sonoma Valley High School - Larson Family Winery

Ruben Armenta

In addition to the cash scholarship awards, Pacific Office Automation generously donated a new laptop to outstanding student, Ruben Armenta. Pacific Office Automation is a top level sponsor of Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance and proudly prints the Sonoma Valley Winery Map.

The SVVGA Scholarship Committee includes: Brian Shepard, Chair – Jack London Vineyard; Jeff Bundschu – Gundlach Bundschu Winery; Pat Stornetta – Leveroni Vineyards; and Tish Ward – Atwood Ranch.

Over the past nine years, the SVVGF has awarded just over $100,000 to deserving high school seniors who have at least one parent employed by a winery or vineyard within the Sonoma Valley appellation.