Posted in Industry News on Dec 08, 2015
By Barry Eberling
During a marathon five-hour-plus session before a packed chamber, Napa County Supervisors on Tuesday began grappling with need for more winery regulations. Some residents see a successful industry on the right track, while others see an industry that faces too much growth and overemphasizes hospitality events.
Posted in Growing Season, Industry News on Dec 03, 2015
By Paul Franson
North Coast, Calif.—Grapegrowers in Napa and Sonoma counties experienced an explosion of Pierce’s disease (PD) this year, and it’s attributed to the native blue-green sharpshooter, not the threatening glassy-winged sharpshooter that so far has been excluded from the counties by rigid quarantines.
Posted in Growing Season, Industry News on Nov 27, 2015
By Geoffrey Mohan
Jason Haas' plan for El Niño involves oats, sweet peas, vetch, clover, sheep, alpacas, a llama and a couple of donkeys. It's not for everyone, the organic viticulturist admits. But it works for his family's Paso Robles vineyard, where dormant vines have laid bare acre after acre of precious topsoil on steep hillsides.
Posted in Growing Season, Industry News on Nov 19, 2015
By Paul Franson
Sometimes it seems as if a new pest or disease threatens California grapevines every week, but many tools are available to fight them. Three experts discussed some of the most promising approaches for fighting vineyard pests at the Napa Valley Grapegrowers’ Rootstock conference held Nov. 12, 2015.
Posted in Industry News, Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation on Nov 18, 2015
By Paul Franson
Napa, Calif.—Vineyard owners and management companies often face new regulations and laws for their workers, but an unusual number will encounter them in the next few years. “There have been more changes to the rules and regulations in the past six months than I’ve seen in the past 10 years,” José Chang, deputy agricultural commissioner for Napa County, stated during a talk he gave at the Rootstock meeting last week. And, he warned, “More are coming.”