North Bay Business Journal

SANTA ROSA — Nick Frey, president of Sonoma County Winegrape Commission and its predecessor trade group for nearly 14 years, today formally announced he will retire this spring.

Securing enough North Coast grapes to supply growing consumer demand for wine is spurring growth in staffing and services among some North Bay law firms that serve the industry, all of which is helping the legal industry rebound after several years of static business.

Brisk mergers-and-acquisitions activity for North Coast wineries, vineyards and brands in 2012 is expected to continue into 2013, even if the estimated huge size of the recent harvest moderates supply pricing underlying a number of the deals, according to the deal brokers.

NAPA — Paul Hobbs Winery today said it purchased the 90-acre Tourmaline Vineyard in the Coombsville winegrowing region east of Napa, making this the western Sonoma County winery’s first Napa Valley acquisition.

“Wow!” is just one of the superlatives local wine industry leaders used to describe the 2012 winegrape harvest after two difficult years for growers. Other adjectives found in wine trade journals include “ideal, excellent, outstanding, fantastic, amazing, concentrated, balanced and bright.”

Santa Rosa’s State Assistance for Enterprise, Business and Industrial Development Corp., the non-depository lender better known as SAFE-BIDCO, has raised the profile of its agricultural lending program after boosting the dollars it can lend through a new arrangement with the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. …

Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ: BMRC), parent company of Bank of Marin, announced that it has opened a new branch office in Tiburon’s Cove Shopping Center on Nov. 19, replacing a former branch in the town of Strawberry. …

Wells Fargo N.A. has announced the launch of a new homebuyer assistance program known as CityLIFT. …

ST. HELENA — The total economic impact of Napa County’s grape and wine business last year was $13.3 billion inside the county line, $25.9 billion in California and more than $50 billion in the U.S., according to a study released today by a local trade group.

SONOMA — The Donum Estate, a maker of pinot noir wine based in the Los Carneros winegrowing region of southern Sonoma County, acquired the 20-acre Nugent Vineyard in Russian River Valley.

HEALDSBURG — Foley Family Wines plans to launch a lower-cost extension of the Chalk Hill Estate brand early next year with the acquisition of about 206 acres of mostly chardonnay and pinot noir grapes that make up Ramal East Vineyard in Sonoma County’s Los Carneros winegrowing region.

SANTA ROSA — Jackson Family Wines today said it reached an agreement with the Kunde family to buy the 260-acre Saralee’s Vineyard and Richard’s Grove property in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley winegrowing region.

A North Coast winegrape season that was not too hot, too cold or too wet combined with steady demand for grapes and wine following two short crops led to a rare conjunction in recent years, possibly the most tonnage since the 2005 peak year and a number of wineries eager to find room to buy as much as they could.

A number of wine industry lenders in the North Bay have seen an uptick in demand for financing this year as wineries, vineyards and related industries seek to position themselves more strongly in a changed economy.

NAPA COUNTY — As planners in Napa County continue development of a strategy to address state-mandated reductions to greenhouse gas emissions, industry groups have expressed concern that a proposed local market for carbon credits will increase costs for developers and suppress new vineyard and agricultural projects in the region.

On Nov. 6, Marin County voters will be deciding whether to approve Measure A, the Marin Parks, Open Space and Farmland quarter-cent sales tax measure. On Aug. 7, after a series of public meetings, a public opinion survey, a recommendation from the County Parks and Open Space Commission and at the urging of community groups [...]

More than half the 2012 North Coast winegrape crop is off the vine and most of the rest is expected to be arriving at wineries by early November.

Many North Coast growers and wineries were surprised to find the crops were much bigger than expected around the beginning of the season.

When you play the slots in Vegas, you pull the handle and hope that three symbols line up. If so, bells start to ring and lights flash and money comes gushing out of the machine. Well, it is still early to tell for sure, but the great slot machine of the 2012 North Coast harvest is lining up with: good quality, good yields, good demand.

Homebuilder-turned-vintner Bart Araujo and his wife, Daphne, purchased the acclaimed 39-acre Eisele Vineyard just east of Calistoga in 1990.

Mr. Araujo will be a panelist at the Impact Napa 2012 conference the morning of Aug. 30. He spoke with the Business Journal about the challenges and opportunities facing a high-end, small-production Napa Valley winery.

Andy Beckstoffer was trained as an engineer, but he’s been training North Coast vines to produce world-class wines for four decades. He acquired what is now Beckstoffer Vineyards in 1973.

Mr. Beckstoffer will be a panelist at the Impact Napa 2012 conference the morning of Aug. 30. He spoke with the Business Journal about how the 2012 crop has been faring, whether or not the North Coast has a shortage of winegrapes and the impact of any crimp in supply on grape and wine prices.

Valley of the Moon Winery and Lake Sonoma Winery were sold by F. Korbel & Bros. to West Coast Wine Partners, a family-owned wine company with roots in Canada’s Okanagan Valley.

Wineries across Sonoma and Napa counties will keep employee benefits largely in place, although they are increasingly resorting to consumer-driven health plans to keep costs in line, they contribute more to employee deductibles compared to other industries, according to recent survey by insurance broker Woodruff Sawyer & Company.