North Bay Business Journal

Shipments of wine directly to consumers from wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties, accounting for 69 percent of such shipments from U.S. sources, last year grew at 8.0 percent and 10.1 percent in value, respectively, helping push U.S. winery-to-consumer shipment value past that of wine exports for the first time, according to a new study. …

Prices of bulk wine imported into the U.S. may decline while global supply is tightening, according to one new report from agrilender Rabobank International. …

San Francisco-based Bacchus Capital Management on Thursday said it provided an undisclosed amount of “significant growth capital” to Madrigal Family Winery in Napa Valley. …

Jackson Family Wines continues its North Coast land acquisitions. …

Healdsburg-based graphic design and advertising firm Firefly Creative has experienced growth in demand from wineries seeking professional photo and video services as well as conversion of their websites to “responsive” design. …

Fetzer Vineyards, based in Hopland, California, hired Ben Byczynski as grower relations manager, North Coast. …

OFFbeat Brands of appointed three new sales executives. …

2012 was a big year for wine-related property and brand transactions, and expectations are that 2013 also will be busy.

At the Business Journal’s Wine Industry Conference on April 18, five of the most active players are set to be part of a panel discussion on what’s happening and the potential for more: Peter Byck of Winery Exchange, Dennis Carroll of Sonoma Wine Co. and Purple Wine Co., Bill Foley of Foley Family Wines, Pat Roney of Vintage Wine Estates and Jeff Wesselkamper of Jackson Family Wines.

The Business Journal’s 2013 Wine Industry Conference in April will feature the general manager of Fetzer Vineyards and the architect of its acquisition by a large Chilean wine company as well as insights on North Coast wine-related mergers and acquisitions from two of the largest players in the market recently.

More than an environmentally friendly gesture, an increasing number of North Bay businesses are pursuing renewable energy development as a way to reduce costs and improve their bottom line.

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.

Six months after turning on what’s arguably the largest rooftop solar electricity and hot-water cogeneration system in the U.S., Jackson Family Wines is finalizing plans to go even bigger in the next few months with installations in Sonoma and Monterey counties.

Following are profiles of the top day-to-day leaders from the Business Journal’s lists of the largest independently owned wineries under 100,000 cases, published in March, and the largest wine companies, published in May.

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.

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.

Following are profiles of the top day-to-day leaders from the Business Journal’s lists of the largest independently owned wineries under 100,000 cases, published in March, and the largest wine companies, published in May.

GEYSERVILLE — Jess Stonestreet Jackson, the wine visionary who popularized Chardonnay in America in the early 1980s with his immediately-successful Kendall-Jackson winery and then became a pioneering architect of the ascendant American wine industry, died today at his Geyserville home after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.

This report highlights 46 North Bay professionals in various fields who have been leading development and implementation of environmentally sustainable technologies, such as solar electric and geothermal energy, erosion control for better stream water quality and energy-efficient construction.

AMERICAN CANYON — Eleven football fields or 10 Boeing 747 jetliners parked wingtip to wingtip could fit under the massive 15-acre roof of the new distribution center for Santa Rosa-based vintner Jackson Family Wines and Napa-based trucker and warehouser Biagi Bros.

NORTH BAY — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is rolling out a new rate plan called “Peak Day Pricing” in response to a statewide initiative led by the California Public Utilities Commission aimed at reducing energy use during periods of extremely high demand.

NORTH BAY — The Business Journal will honor 12 North Bay real estate projects and the key industry players who made them possible at its fifth-annual 2010 Top Projects Awards reception on Dec. 8. Continue reading to see the list of winning projects.

Send Business News items to the North Bay Business Journal, Attn: Business Register, 427 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95401; fax 707-521-5292; or e-mail news@busjrnl.com.

SANTA ROSA — Jackson Family Wines plans to shift production of the Arrowood brand this summer from its Sonoma Valley winery to the company’s Cardinale winery in Oakville to bolster the bottom line.

Following are profiles of the top day-to-day leaders from the Business Journal’s lists of the largest independently owned wineries under 100,000 cases, published in March, and the largest wine companies, published in May.

SANTA ROSA – Rick Tigner, president of Jackson Family Wines sales and distribution, was promoted to president of Jackson Family Enterprises.

AMERICAN CANYON — The 650,000-square-foot Kendall Jackson Family Wines Distribution Center earned LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, making it one of the largest LEED projects in the state.