Viticulture briefs: Vintage Wine Estates buys Washington winery

Vintage Wine Estates buys Washington’s Tamarack Cellars

Vintage Wine Estates of Santa Rosa has acquired Tamarack Cellars of Walla Walla, Washington. The purchase was announced Friday.

Ron and Jamie Coleman founded Tamarack Cellars in 1998 and the winery is noted for its red blend, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. It also produces some limited-production, single-vineyard blends.

Winemaker Danny Gordon will continue in his role and all Tamarack Cellars personnel will be retained. The purchase price was not disclosed.

“Tamarack Cellars exemplifies what is so very exciting about Washington winemaking, thanks to the vision of the founder, Ron Coleman, and the quality and diversity of the state’s microclimates and vineyards,” Pat Roney, president and CEO of Vintage Wine Estates, said in a statement.

Vintage Wine Estates last month bought three wine labels from Napa Valley vintner Jayson Woodbridge: Layer Cake, Cherry Pie and If You See Kay.

Sonoma County Grape Day ?scheduled for next month

Sonoma County Grape Day will be held on Feb. 8 at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building from 8 a.m. to noon.

The event, presented by the ?UC Cooperative Extension and sponsored by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, will feature discussions on new efforts to battle powdery mildew, advances in mechanical harvesting tools and how habitats affect fruit composition.

Cost for the event is $40 with on-site ticket purchases at $45. For more information, go to http://bit.ly/1QQMQz5.

Sonoma State program ?offers $10,000 scholarships

Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute has allocated $10,000 scholarships each to 15 students from disadvantaged families.

The funding is through the school’s Wine Industry Scholars Program, which offsets tuition and other educational expenses for family members of vineyard and winery workers who are the first in their family to attend college.

Rosa Zuniga, a psychology major who was awarded a scholarship, said in the statement the funding would help her cover bills during the semester break.

“It was a relief knowing that I was able to get rent covered for these few months and it would be OK for me to take a two-week break from work for the holidays,” Zuniga said.

Compiled by Bill Swindell. Submit items to bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com.