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w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m J u l y - A u g 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 1 3 For California Department of Food and Agri- culture Secretary Karen Ross, who spoke to 150 grapegrowers and wine professionals on May 14 at the Wine Industry Vineyard Economics Seminar in Napa, water "fuels the basics of life, provides drinking water and water for human sanitation and for firefighting." Ross, the former president of the Califor- nia Association of Winegrape Growers, praised the region's grapegrowers for being innovative in water conservation and for developing and sharing farming practices that save water. "But there is more to do," she said. Ross urged conference attendees to focus on water conservation to ensure that everyone has clean water and that communities thrive. Not that it will be easy. Three years into the current drought, on Jan. 17, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emer- gency and urged Californians to reduce water use by 20%. Currently rainfall is off by 50%, with only 18.08 inches falling in the Santa Rosa basin in Sonoma County, where 30 inches or more would be normal. Grapegrowers who rely on water from Lake Sonoma, Lake Mendocino and the Russian River are facing severely limited resources, with Lake Sonoma at 75% capacity and Lake Men- docino at 45%. There are also pending water diversions along the Russian River Valley water- shed above the city of Healdsburg. With many communities issuing or anticipating mandatory water restrictions this summer, every drop will count. Current conditions have growers and government focusing on ground- water use. "Ground water management needs to be done on a local and regional scale because we have too many vari- ables out there for a one-size fits-all," Ross said. Ground water normally provides 30%-40% of total water for the state annually, she added, but this year, it will likely Increased Water Management Efforts Urged for California Growers BY RAYNE WOLFE CDFA secretary Karen Ross advises grapegrowers to step up their water conservation efforts. NEWS FLASH California Wine Sales See Growth Wine Institute in San Francisco reports that California wine ship- ments within the U.S. were 215 million cases in 2013, up 3% from the previous year, with an estimated retail value of $23.1 billion, up 5%. California wine sales to all markets, both domestic and international, increased 3% by volume to 258 million cases in 2013. This followed two record wine grape harvests in 2012 and 2013. WineAmerica's Mark Chandler Resigns WineAmerica Chairman Eddie O'Keefe has accepted the resignation of the Washington D.C.-based organization's Executive Director Mark Chandler, effective May 15. Chandler had a one-year contract with WineAmerica. Moving forward, O'Keefe says the organization plans to engage a contract lobbyist to oversee wine industry legislative matters. It also continues to retain the services of staffers Michael Kaiser and Tara Good. ASEV Names Best Paper Awards The American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) has named its Best Paper Award winners for 2014 from all research articles published in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture in 2013. The Viticulture Paper Award addressed "Postveraison Application of Antitranspirant Di-1-p-Menthene in Sangiovese." The Enology Paper Award explored "Sensory Impact of Extended Maceration and Regu- lated Deficit Irrigation." Allan Brothers Acquires Sagemoor Vineyards Yakima Valley fruit packer and grower Allan Brothers is entering the wine business with its purchase of Sagemoor Vineyards. Sagemoor will maintain its management team under the new ownership. The property includes 883 acres of wine grapes, 230 acres of cherries and 190 acres of apples. Sagemoor grapes are sold to more than 70 Washington wineries. For more industry news briefs, visit the News Flash page on V&WM's website: http://www.vwmmedia.com/magazine/web-exclusive1.asp.