It allows visitors to the www.visitnapavalley.com website to search for thousands of upcoming tours, tastings and specials events that can be reserved exclusively through the CellarPass guest reservations and marketing platform.

GrapeHeart Vineyards Unveils the First Vintage of Their Cabernet Sauvignon and Red Blend 'The Beat'

Forks and Corks event benefits American River College in Sacramento

Year to date, occupancy is up 11.4 percent over 2012, according to Sonoma County Tourism. Visit California, the state's official tourism booster, also found that visitor-generated taxes equaled $168 per household in Sonoma County, while tourism-related employment accounted for nearly 17,000 jobs in Sonoma County.

The new wine, Mumm Napa Supernatural Rose, is a nod to the longstanding relationship between Santana and Mumm Napa, and is the second bottling produced through collaboration between the two.

Research to provide updates and additional measurements following up 2005 data

The 20,000 square foot space was redesigned to increase capacity by 30 percent, allowing for a more stream-lined inventory management system and greater stock volume, especially during the busy months of harvest.

The Huber Vineyard, first planted by Norman Huber in 1987-88, is one of the oldest vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA.

Two Florida-based investment groups have acquired two key properties on Silverado Trail, including an 11-acre site previously approved for a Ritz-Carlton resort hotel.

Unlike wine estates in manicured Napa Valley, Marcassin is located in a fairly remote area of the Sonoma Coast, close up against a wilder landscape subject to the occasional forest fire.

Steve Gliessman grows zinfandel, shiraz, and Pedro Ximenez grapes in the Cuyama Valley.

More recently, tannat has found a good home in Paso Robles. A key player was Tablas Creek Vineyard.

Officials say the fire started at O'Neill Winery in the area of S. Lac Jac Ave. and W. Manning Ave. on Monday afternoon. Firefighters managed to contain and extinguish the blaze several hours after it started.

Mira Winery of St. Helena, Calif., placed the bottles of wine in yellow steel mesh cages and then submerged them offshore in an undisclosed location back in February.

The rig was carrying 35,000 pounds of grapes when it overturned at the center divider.

The Delta Plan recommends improved efficiency, more storage, the development of other local water supplies, protection of Delta farmlands and communities, and the improvement of Delta levees. It will also incorporate as state law the yet to be completed Bay Delta Conservation Plan.

Although Napa County has filed three lawsuits against local wineries in recent months regarding permit compliance, these cases do not represent a campaign against vintners, county officials said this week.

The purchase, which is the first for GEI in wine industry, includes 11-acre estate winery and vineyard property, tasting room and a Tudor-style estate home.

Gentry becomes marketing manager at Oakville Ranch Vineyards; Meet the Women for WineSense Wine industry experts

Many wineries have installed solar power, but two recent announcements deserve mention.