Business News: Week of July 1, 2013

Beer

Bear Republic Brewing Company is taking part in a new food donation initiative started by North Bay beef ranchers, the Range to Table donation program. The program puts wholesome meat raised on family farms on the tables of low-income families, senior citizens and others. Oak Ridge Angus Ranch in Calistoga has volunteered to humanely raise the calves on open range land for Redwood Empire Food Bank, if the feed is supplied. Bear Republic is donating brewer's grain for feed.Education

Culinary Institute of America launched a new program that allows students to study farm-to-table cuisine with chef Larry Forgione at CIA at Greystone in St. Helena. The academic concentration brings students from the CIA bachelor's degree management programs in Hyde Park, N.Y. This 15-week travel component of the CIA's Farm-to-Table Cooking concentration is a conservatory-style, hands-on educational model for students who want to be part of a community working to create healthy, sustainable, and delicious food systems. During the semester, students will receive a hands-on education on three CIA farms -- on Deer Park Road, at the Charles Krug Winery and on the Greystone campus. There they will work with Mr. Forgione and farm manager Christian Dake, previously a farmer for the Baker Creek Seed Company and a founder of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Festival.Health Care

Sausalito's Sanovas, Inc., a developer of micro invasive surgical solutions for the Interventional Pulmonary Science, announced that it has entered into a patent license and joint development agreement with Mayo Clinic to commercialize a significant innovation in the emerging science of bronchial smooth muscle modification. The collaboration is intended to advance the clinical efficacy of Bronchial Thermoplasty, a novel outpatient procedure that delivers precisely controlled thermal energy to reduce excess airway smooth muscle associated with airway constriction in patients with asthma. By decreasing the ability of the airways to constrict, this new treatment has been shown to help patients with severe asthma gain substantially better control over their disease.Tourism

A $5 million historic sailing brigantine currently under construction in Sausalito has officially entered the process of earning Forest Stewardship Council project certification to demonstrate that it will be constructed from timber produced with responsible forestry practices. The nonprofit group behind the project, Educational Tall Ship for San Francisco Bay, selected Emeryville-based SCS Global Services a leading Forest Council certifier worldwide, to conduct the independent assessment proving that only certified lumber is used in the hull, decks and cabins.Wine

Sonoma State University met with Sun Yebao, mayor of Penglai, China, to announce an academic partnership between Sonoma State and the University of Jinan, Quancheng Institute. A special ceremony was held for Sonoma State President Ruben Armiñana and Mr. Yebao to sign a mutual Letter of Interest officially establishing an exploratory academic relationship between the schools. Located on the northeast coast of the historic Shandong province, Penglai has been one of China’s major grape-growing regions since the 1870s. In 2011, mutual interests in viticulture, winemaking and tourism instigated an official Sister City relationship between Sonoma and Penglai. Sonoma State can offer an exchange of experts, students, instructors and ideas with the Quancheng Institute as it develops a training program for China’s wine business.

Like the Old Vine (Kao Stara Loza), a documentary about the life of Miljenko "Mike" Grgich, a Vintners Hall of Fame inductee and owner of Rutherford-based Grgich Hills Estate, won the Grand Jury's Special Award at the 20th annual Oenovideo International Grape & Wine Film Festival in Carcassonne-Minervois, France, May 30--June 2. The film was among 26 films from 14 countries. Mr. Grgich and Director Milka Barisic will accept the Cep d'Or Trophy in the French Senate in Paris on Sept. 27.Marketing

Sonoma County Go Local Cooperative is joining with communities across the nation to celebrate the freedoms and opportunities independent businesses provide during July’s Independents Month. The marketing network for locally owned independent businesses asks residents and visitors to support them in July. Go Local teamed with Zack Darling Creative Associates to create the marketing materials such as display posters and online branding.

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