In the News
Washington, D.C., Dec 3, 2009 -
After holding their breath for six years, Napa Valley winemakers can now put the name "Calistoga" on wines made from grapes grown in that historic town, federal regulators have ruled.
The decision (read it here in PDF) ends a long slog through regulatory red tape, and completes a crucial piece of the valley's intricate system for labeling its wines — one that stands to make bottles from the area even more valuable.
Washington, D.C., Jun 9, 2009 -
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, has introduced a bill that would extend tax cuts to vintners and orchard farmers under the federal stimulus package.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes a tax break to help businesses, including farms, recover the cost of new capital investment. However, the bill does not cover permanent crops such as vines and fruit and nut trees because they are not harvested within the first year after they are planted.
Washington, D.C., Mar 4, 2009 - Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, grills a Tax and Trade Bureau representative at a May 2008 hearing regarding use of the word Calistoga on a wine that uses grapes sourced elsewhere.
What’s in a name?
In the Napa Valley, widely considered one of the top wine-growing regions in the world, everything.
“No product that I can think of is more importantly tied to the location that it comes from than wine grapes,” said Eric Sklar, St. Helena city councilman and principal at Alpha Omega Winery.
Washington, D.C., Dec 17, 2008 -
Washington, D.C., Dec 7, 2008 -
Washington, D.C., Dec 2, 2008 -
At the first Green Wine Summit held at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa today, third-party verification and certification of environmentally friendly business practices in the wine industry emerged as a main theme.
Washington, D.C., May 31, 2006 -
In some ways the gathering in Room H-137 of the Capitol looked like your usual congressional cocktail party, complete with cubed cheese, sliced fruit and lawmakers mingling with their aides. But the rows of wine atop the main table revealed the event's unique purpose: every bottle was rabbi-approved, since this May evening event was celebrating high-quality kosher wine.