Posted in Growing Season, NVG News on Mar 17, 2017
By Henry Lutz
The growing season has begun in Napa’s vineyards, with the first buds opening on vines from Carneros north to St. Helena. Over the coming weeks and months, shoots, leaves and berries will follow.
Caleb Mosley, senior viticulturist with Michael Wolf Vineyard Services, said Thursday that bud break is prevalent in the southern end of the county, citing a client’s blocks of chardonnay off Cuttings Wharf Road in the Carneros region.
“From what I’ve seen so far that’s where bud break is really taking off,” Mosley said.
Posted in Industry News, Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation on Mar 17, 2017
By Natalie Kitroeff and Geoffrey Motlan
Arnulfo Solorio’s desperate mission to recruit farmworkers for the Napa Valley took him far from the pastoral vineyards to a raggedy parking lot in Stockton, in the heart of the Central Valley.
Carrying a fat stack of business cards for his company, Silverado Farming, Solorio approached one prospect, a man with only his bottom set of teeth. He told Solorio that farm work in Stockton pays $11 to $12 an hour. Solorio countered: “Look, we are paying $14.50 now, but we are going up to $16.” The man nodded skeptically.
Posted in Press Releases on Mar 16, 2017
Napa, CA (March 16, 2016) – Emerging from this year’s active winter, where ample rains filled reservoirs and saturated the ground in Napa Valley, the positive outlook continues with the announcement of bud break. As temperatures warm and soil becomes drier, vines emerge from dormancy and begin to push water up from their root systems. Miniature buds on the vine, developed during the prior year, begin to swell eventually producing shoots from the bud. These shoots will then spring tiny leaves that help accelerate growth, especially as temperatures continue to increase.
Posted in Industry News, NVG News on Mar 12, 2017
By Henry Lutz
ST. HELENA — Experts from various corners of the wine industry gathered last week to talk about the state of the ‘Napa Valley’ brand in the wine world.
Speaking before a hall packed with industry members at Brasswood Estate, presenters at the Napa Valley Grapegrowers’ annual Ahead of the Curve symposium included economists, authors, sommeliers and more. Each offered insights into potential changes on the horizon for the county’s dominant industry.
Posted in Industry News, NVG News on Mar 09, 2017
By Paul Franson
St. Helena, Calif.—The Napa Valley Grapegrowers association has an unparalleled educational program to help growers farm better grapes, but occasionally it steps back from viticulture to take a longer view. This Wednesday the group held the 2017 Ahead of the Curve seminar to do just that.
In this half-day seminar at Brasswood Estate near St. Helena, observers and experts, some from outside the wine business, offered concentrated insights into issues ranging from farmworker benefits to investing for the future.