Join the national winery association and make your voice heard on Capitol Hill.  

As America's national winery association WineAmerica serves its membership in two ways. WineAmerica works to improve laws affecting wineries at the local, state and national level. Winemakers work hard on their vineyard while they work hard in Washington DC and in capitols across the county. Don't leave laws affecting your winery in the hands of others, get involved today! WineAmerica offers WineAmerica Benefits, a saving benefit program, offering discounts on commonly used services. We find that the savings wineries receive through our benefits program often exceeds the price of membership. They are constantly updating their list of supplier members, so check back frequently to see how you can continue to benefit from being a member of WineAmerica. CLICK HERE for more information.   

UC Researchers' Latest Findings on Major Grape Diseases

Red leaves are a welcome sight for those who travel in the Eastern U.S. to view autumn colors.

But they are not appreciated in vineyards in California and elsewhere, where they can be a sign of the diseases grapevine red blotch or grapevine leafroll. "This is not Massachusetts," said Kent Daane, specialist at the University of California's Kearney Ag Center in Parlier. Leaves on healthy vines in California simply turn yellow and fall off the vine, he said. Daane talked of a major culprit in the spread of leafroll associated viruses, the vine mealybug, and whether spraying insecticides alone can eliminate the threat (Spoiler alert: It can't.). Other speakers at a San Joaquin Valley grape symposium in Easton looked at ways to identify diseases in vines, an old nemesis (the glassy-winged sharpshooter which can spread Pierce's disease) and new regulations governing the use of volatile organic compounds. Read more. 

The act of decanting older wines to give them air is a noble tradition that goes back many decades and was mainly used for red wines. It's a ritual that often was a regular part of serving old bordeaux, and the practice is still in evidence in classy Parisian starred restaurants. But few people practice it anymore, except those with ancient wines that are loaded with sediment. Even though older red wines no longer command the attention of the majority of today's younger wine buyers, decanting is today more vital a tactic than ever before. And more for white wines than reds. That's because the wine scene has moved into a new era where white wines are better than they have ever been, and as such are being sold sooner than they used to be sold. As a result, some wines are released to market earlier and are simply too young to be sold this quickly. Read more.   

Here's to Tannat, a Big Tannic Monster Wine  

It's a red grape variety rarely found in America and often difficult to track down in wine shops. It's not the next big thing, but tannat could be coming to a glass near you. Tannat (pronounced "tuh-NOT") originates in southwestern France, a relatively obscure region called Madiran in the foothills of the Pyrenees. And while it has been grown there for the past 400 years or so, it's becoming more famous in the South American country of Uruguay, where Basques transplanted it around 1870. Not long after that, tannat arrived in California, where it remains relatively obscure. Perhaps 250 acres are planted there, and its production accounts for less than 0.1 percent of the total California wine-grape harvest. Tannat is a big wine, a tannic monster that is bigger than cabernet sauvignon and perhaps even the massive petite sirah. A well-balanced tannat could easily age for decades, I suspect. With more than 100 wine-grape varieties being grown in the Pacific Northwest, why would we want yet another one? Because it could well be perfect for our region, particularly in the arid climate of Eastern Washington's Columbia Valley. Tannat is easy to grow: It handles frosts and cold temperatures well, is not susceptible to disease and ripens in the middle of harvest. What's not to love? Read more.