Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/590181
1 0 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | N o v - D e c 2 015 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m EDITOR'S DESK yeast strains (see page 70); Christine Coletta and Steve Lornie of Okana- gan Crush Pad, who brought innova- tion and custom crush services to the Okanagan Valley (see page 78); a new crop of Livermore Valley winegrow- ers whose commitment to quality is drawing new attention to the region (see page 86); and Syrah champions such as Bob Lindquist of Qupé, who never gave up on the variety, and are now seeing an uptick in sales. While you may feel like placing craft brewers on the "Least Want- ed" list – at least from a competition standpoint – there is actually much to be admired about the way they pro- mote their products (see page 104). Like most wineries, small indepen- dent breweries don't have the scale or money to spend on major market- ing campaigns or Super Bowl ads; however, they are highly adept at forging connections within their own communities. Building local support is something wineries in the East still struggle with – at least in the on-premise world. As Marguerite Thomas points out in her column (page 29), many restaurateurs don't include local wines on their lists because they're harder to sell than wines from higher-profile regions. (Let's add those people to the "Least Wanted" list.) On the flip side, how- ever, there are admirable folks like Michigan's Amanda Danielson, who makes sure to include local wines on her restaurant's mostly Italian list. In the wine world as in life, it's all about balance. Salute! In this issue, we're going to extremes. At one end of the spectrum, we're celebrating the North American wine industry's most admired grape- growers, viticulturists and vineyard managers. At the other, we're calling out the industry's most notorious vine- yard pests. For our annual "Most Admired" feature (see page 40), we assembled a committee of some of the indus- try's most respected grapegrowers, winemakers, wine writers, educators, wine buyers and sommeliers. They submitted nominations, we narrowed the field of candidates, and everyone voted for their favorites. The resulting list of 20 includes a fascinating array of farmers, from self-taught bootstrappers to Davis- trained viticulturists. You'll probably find some of your own heroes – along with a few new faces – among this remarkable group. The approach was slightly different for our "Wine Country's Least Wanted" story (see page 62). Our writer, James Giese, spoke with integrated pest man- agement experts and farm advisors across the country to find out which bugs are currently the biggest offend- ers, and what's being done to banish them. The resulting list is a "who's who" of vineyard villains that would make any grapegrower's skin crawl. There are plenty of other folks to admire in this issue: UC Davis profes- sor Linda Bisson, who helped develop new low hydrogen-sulfide-producing Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwmmedia.com. TINA CAPUTO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Most Admired Least Wanted and