North Bay Business Journal

Wineshipping investing millions in Napa fulfillment facility

SONOMA — Increasing sales of wine plus greater demand for direct shipments has fulfillment services provider Wineshipping packing for a major expansion to Napa Valley.

People: Week of May 21, 2012

John Meislahn has joined the business development team at Exchange Bank as vice president and SBA business development officer. … Mary Celestre and Judy Reynolds have each been promoted to vice president. … Minh Tran, who has been assistant county counsel for Napa County since July 2009, was named by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to the top attorney position. … KGO radio anchor and reporter Jeffrey Schaub moved to KCBS All News AM 740/FM 106.9. … Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage announced two additions to its Marin County management team: Joanne Zavlaris as assistant manager and Kevin Kearney as assistant manager. … VML Winery‘s Virginia Lambrix hired Alex Kanzler to direct quality control for the company’s wines made at the Russian River Valley winery in Healdsburg. … Mike Meneghelli joined Napa-based wine bottle supplier Global Package as sales representative. … Seghesio Family Vineyards has appointed Ned Neumiller as the winery’s head of grower relations.

Vintners Co-Op, M.A. Silva expand to Napa Valley

AMERICAN CANYON — Sonoma County Vintners Co-Op, Inc., which provides wine storage, distribution and fulfillment for a few hundred vintners along the West Coast, has expanded further into Napa Valley with a new warehouse, and the first customer is M.A. Silva USA’s rapidly growing wine bottle business.

Healdsburg wine company gets $2.5 million investment

HEALDSBURG — A San Francisco venture capitalist is investing $2.5 million in a 5-year-old wine producer, the company announced today.

Wilson adds Blackstone winery to growing portfolio

SONOMA VALLEY — The Ken Wilson family wine portfolio now has an eighth facility with the sale of the Blackstone Winery facility to one of his companies, Stonecushion Inc.

Investor buys Hess winery building

AMERICAN CANYON — A Rochester, N.Y.-based private real estate investment trust today said it acquired The Hess Collection winery, warehouse and distribution building for $27.8 million.

North Coast water board names new executive officer

SANTA ROSA — The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board announced the appointment of Matthew St. John, an 11-year staff member and head of logging and erosion regulation, as executive officer.

Ballentine Vineyards taps Adler Fels for distribution

NAPA VALLEY — Ballentine Vineyards, a nearly 9,000-case-a-year Bordeaux-style estate wine producer started two decades ago, signed a marketing and distribution agreement with Adler Fels Winery of Santa Rosa.

Wine industry seeks producing vines as cost, competition pressures rise

After a dozen years of winegrape excess statewide, the California wine business is headed into several years of tighter supply to slake growing global demand while competition and costs of production are rising, according to experts at the Business Journal’s 2012 Wine Industry Conference in Santa Rosa on Wednesday. … The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors last week voted unanimously to roll back all but simplified registration provisions in the county’s Vineyard and Orchard Frost Protection Ordinance. … F. Korbel & Bros., producer of Korbel sparkling wine, plans to sell the half-million-case-a-year Kenwood Vineyards brand and related assets to Banfi Vintners, one of the country’s major wine marketers. … The McWilliams family, owners of Arista Winery with 36 acres of estate vineyards on Westside Road in Russian River Valley, purchased the 74-acre Martinelli Road Vineyard from the Martinelli family. … Sebastopol-based mobile wine filtration services provider American Winesecrets teamed with Australia’s Diverse Barrel Solution Pty. Ltd. to operate the latter’s Phoenix high-tech barrel-restoration system starting in July. … Longtime wine and spirits executive and entrepreneur Mike Kenton formed OFFbeat Brands to develop, find sourcing for and market high-quality, “eclectic” and different wine and spirit brands. … Santa Rosa-based Provino, which evolved its wine telesales business into an outsourced direct-to-consumer marketing service for vintners, changed its name to VinoPro to reflect its move further in that direction and launched a technology services division to blend its DTC customer resource management software with popular wine business software package. … Spring and summer are set to have more wine business seminars and training: Sonoma State University’s new Napa Valley expansion for the wine executive MBA program, Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute global wine business education conference, Vineyard Economics Seminar, Wine Industry Technology Symposium.

Access to financing easing for wine industry, lenders say

NORTH BAY – Borrowers in the wine industry have found it easier to access financing recently, with industry lending experts citing a warming approach to commercial lending from traditional sources and an uptick in interest for specialty non-bank lending.

Grape Market Insights: How to win the California (grape) Lottery

In this game, which is the real California Lottery, you’re going to need a four-wheel drive vehicle and you’ve got to get your boots muddy. There will be two kinds of mega-winners: Growers who have used this time strategically to build relationships with the best long term homes for their grapes and brand owners who have forged relationships with key growers that will allow them to respond to growing consumer demand with an ample supply of quality wine while maintaining a healthy profit margin.

Report: Fine-wine sales to grow 7 percent to 11 percent in 2012

ST. HELENA — After strong sales growth last year, U.S. makers of fine wine could see somewhat moderated growth this year as an improving domestic economy and shrinking supply of grapes and wine may allow planned luxury bottle price increases stick in the marketplace, while global economic problems together with an increasing supply shortage may boost imported wine sales for the next few years, according to a highly watched annual wine industry forecast released today.

April 18 forum of experts to tackle shrinking supply, globalization, finance

SANTA ROSA — As the supply of raw materials for wine are evaporates around the globe, emerging economies become thirstier for the beverage, the U.S. emerges as the world’s top wine market and the complexities of international trade, investment and economics multiply, 13 top California wine industry executives will be defining the challenges and opportunities at the Business Journal’s 2012 Wine Industry Conference on April 18 in Santa Rosa.

Wine industry veteran DeLuca joins Wells Fargo

SANTA ROSA – Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) has announced the hiring of Perry DeLuca as industry head and team leader for the Wine, Food & Beverage group in its Santa Rosa-based North Coast Commercial Lending Office.

The supply puzzle: Experts weigh in on how a shortage will impact industry

Wine consumption is growing worldwide and particularly in the world’s new largest wine market, the U.S. Trouble is, shocks to the global economy and to the wine business in particular over the past several years along with tough growing seasons have dramatically limited the supply of grapes and wine sold in bulk to supply the thirst.

The Business Journal asked members of the 2012 Wine Industry Conference panel on grape and wine supply panel at the about some of the hotly discussed topics in the wine business in California.

Navigating the global markets: Plan on a long-term commitment

More wine is moving in and out of this country, which recently grabbed the distinction of being world’s largest wine market away from Europe. Foreign producers and investors are interested in U.S. wineries and brands, often for the prestige or gaining a platform for U.S. distribution of portfolio brands. The Business Journal asked experts set to be on the globalization panel at the 2012 Wine Industry Conference on April 18 about major factors affecting the success of U.S. wines abroad, imports and acquisitions of domestic producers by multinational companies.

Winegrape shortage could last six to eight years

After nearly 10 years of oversupply and low prices, California winegrapes and bulk wines are suddenly in a position of scarcity. Wineries are scurrying to find grapes and secure vineyard assets, while négociant wineries see their wine sources dwindling. How did we come to be in this situation, and what lies ahead for growers, wineries and consumers?

Experts: winegrape shortage to persist for years

NAPA — Not enough winegrapes have been planted in California, leading to a shortage of fruit for wine in the next several years, so growers and wineries should be actively working together to boost that supply, according to two major industry experts.

Jackson lights up large solar cogen array

SANTA ROSA — Jackson Family Wines today unveiled a 241,000-kilowatt-hour solar energy cogeneration array atop the main Kendall-Jackson Kittyhawk winery in Windsor.

Business News: Week of April 2, 2012

Novato-based Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (OTCBB:HNNA) announced that the Hennessy Select SPARX Japan Smaller Companies Fund (symbol:SPJSX) has been named a 2012 Lipper Fund Award winner. … PowerCAD Drafting & Design opened in Rohnert Park. It is an experienced team of CADD (computer aided design and drafting) professionals that support AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) industries utilizing 2D and 3D AutoCAD and related software. … Hospice of Petaluma announced Clover Stornetta Farms as the new title sponsor for its 22nd annual benefit golf tournament. … Children in the North Bay can learn about clean and renewable energy thanks to a $100,000 grant from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) recently awarded to the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County. … Sonoma Valley’s Ledson Winery and Vineyards (www.ledson.com) recently took top honors at the 2012 San Diego International Wine Competition. … Dan and Marguerite Capp have signed a long-term lease for a wine tasting venue in the Curbside Café space on First Street in downtown Napa, across the street from the entrance to Napa Town Center shopping mall. … Customers strolling through Oliver’s Markets will soon have the opportunity to place yet another homegrown product in their shopping carts. … Assemblymember Jared Huffman presented his March Sustainable North Bay Award to Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary, in recognition of the company’s environmentally responsible business practices and consumer products.