Viticulture briefs: Trade group to help wineries with new FDA rule

Wine Institute launches ?online nutritional calculator

The Wine Institute has created an online tool to help wineries provide nutritional information on their wines.

The trade group for California wineries has created a nutrition calculator for members of its organization. The information can be sent to customers who are retail and restaurant chains.

Wineries must provide such information to restaurant and retail chains with 20 or more locations beginning May 7 as part of a new Food and Drug Administration rule under the 2009 Affordable Care Act. The information includes total calories, sodium, total carbohydrates and sugars.

For more information on the calculator, visit wineinstitute.org.

Direct-to-consumer wine sales online workshop to be held

Silicon Valley Bank will hold a direct-to-consumer wine sales videocast on May 16.

A panel will discuss the latest trends from the bank’s annual survey on the growing sales channel. It will be held at 9:30 a.m. and last for one hour.

Rob McMillan, executive vice president for Silicon Valley Bank, will host the session along with panelists Amy Hoopes, president of Wente Family Estates; Paul Mabray, director at Getemetry.com; and Cyril Penn, editor in chief of Wine Business Monthly.

For information, visit svb.com.

Lake County winery hosts ?sauvignon blanc event

The Sauvignon Blanc Experience will be held at Chacewater Winery in Kelseyville on May 4 to 5.

Forty-five wineries, winery associations and importers are slated to pour wine at the event. They include such Lake County wineries as Steele Wines, Langtry Estate, Shannon Ridge and Brassfield Estate Winery.

Tickets are still available for the event’s grand tasting on May 5. For more information, visit sauvignonblancexperience.com.

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