Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/383377
14 W i n e s & V i n e s O C T O B e R 2 0 1 4 O C T O B E R N E W S Top Stories The month in perspective California adopts new groundwater regulations California Gov. Jerry Brown signed three bills pertaining to ground- water into law Sept. 16. The new laws specify that local groundwa- ter management agencies must be identified by 2017, and overdrafted groundwater basins must have sus- tainability plans in place by 2020. By 2040, all high- and medium- priority groundwater basins must achieve sustainability. The laws follow in the footsteps of an Aug. 19 report by University of California researchers who said the state had allocated five times more surface water than it actually has, mak- ing it difficult for the State Water Resources Control Board to know where realistic cuts can be made. Sonoma auction sets new record The Sonoma Wine Country Week- end in California raised a total of $5 million for local charities, with its annual auction drawing a record- setting $4 million (the 2013 total was $1.5 million). The Gallo fam- ily offered the day's top-selling lots: two 10-day African safaris, each of which sold for $110,000, for a total of $220,000. South Dakota lawmakers draft DtC bill South Dakota legislators in the Alcohol Distribution and Ship- ping Committee are working out a compromise that could allow wineries to ship up to 12 cases of wine directly to consumers within the state. South Dakota is one of eight states that currently do not allow wine shipments. Insiders say the proposed bill contains a num- ber of compromises on both sides: Opponents called for a $250 li- censing fee, while the drafted bill mandates a $100 fee; the bill as written requires wineries to pay all local and state taxes as well as a 1% shipping tax, which wholesalers wanted raised to 2%. Lobbyists for the Republic National Distributing Company have pushed for carriers to pay a licensing fee as well. Control for Pierce's disease on the horizon Pierce's disease-resistant cultivars could be on the commercial mar- ket in as soon as three years, ac- cording to Pierce's Disease Control Program coordinator Robert Wynn, who spoke at the annual meeting of the Allied Grape Growers in Fresno, Calif. "We have the technologies now available to control Pierce's disease and want to commercial- ize the science for growers," Wynn said. The first cultivars available would be created through tradi- tional breeding, Wynn said, with genetically modified methods fol- lowing about 10 years later. Bill holds companies liable for subcontractor error The California State Assembly on Sept. 4 approved a bill, already passed by the state Senate, to hold companies responsible for wage fraud committed by subcontrac- tors as well as injuries sustained by temporary employees while at work. Businesses with fewer than 25 em- ployees and less than five tempo- rary workers would be exempt from the law, which is awaiting a signa- ture from Gov. Jerry Brown. Washington winery fire causes $500,000 in damages An Aug. 25 fire that started in the mechanical room at the E. & J. Gallo Winery near Sunnyside, Wash., caused an estimated $500,000 in damage before it was brought under control by the Yakima Fire District. Napa to review wastewater options The Napa (Calif.) Sanitation Dis- trict will study ways to dispose of winery wastewater after being im- plored by winery owners eager to find a local solution. Faced with hefty fees for sending dense water down the drain, county wineries truck an estimated 12,000 loads of waste to a treatment plant in Oakland, Calif., each year. Oregon extends bottle surcharge The Oregon Liquor Control Commis- sion decided to extend a 50-cent surcharge on bottles of alcohol until June 30, 2017. The extra tax was imposed in 2009 and is projected to generate $125 million by 2017. Moth quarantine lifted from 12,000 vineyard acres Approximately 300 vineyards are now free of European grapevine moth (EGVM) quarantine regula- tions in the California counties of Napa, Solano and Sonoma. The Napa County Agricultural Commissioner reported zero moths discovered in the county's quarantine zone during the past year, while Sonoma County reported just one moth trapped in Cazadero, Calif. Former wine executive gets 33 months in prison Martin "Chris" Edwards was sen- tenced to 33 months in prison Sept. 2 after being found guilty of embezzling nearly $900,000 from Napa-based wine-fulfillment com- pany the Wine Tasting Network, his former employer. Edwards di- rected accounts-payable staff to issue more than 45 checks to an account he set up under the name Dufrane Compliance Trust between May 2010 and October 2012. He did not declare the funds on subse- quent tax returns and was indicted on 23 counts of money laundering and mail and wire fraud. LateSt NeWS More detail on the news at: winesandvines.com Attendees bid on lots during the 2014 Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction on Aug. 31. as wineries in California's North Coast region picked up the pieces following a magnitude-6.0 earthquake that struck just south of Napa on Aug. 24, some cellars fared better than others. What can we learn from the effects of the temblor about safety and preparedness? See page 15. While total damages from the earthquake may not be known for some months, one bank charged with estimating the financial wreckage among wineries in Napa County is placing the toll between $70 million and $100 million. See page 15. a 40% grape loss caused by frigid winter temperatures compelled New York agriculture commissioner Richard A. Ball to permit the state's farm wineries to purchase grapes and juice from outside the state for commercial production. See page 18. The historic winery at Napa's Trefethen Family Vineyards buckled during the earthquake.