Viticulture briefs: Signature Sonoma Valley tickets on sale

Signature Sonoma Valley event tickets on sale now

Tickets have gone on sale for the second annual Signature Sonoma Valley event that will be held April 6 to 8.

The event is sponsored by the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance. It served as a replacement after the trade group gave up its role in Sonoma Wine Country Weekend last year to the Sonoma County Vintners.

The festivities begin April 6 at Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma with a food-and-wine pairing event. On April 7, a dinner will be hosted at the private estate of Don and Nancy Sebastiani.

A brunch will be held April 8. A weekend package for all events will cost $1,750. For more information visit the event’s website at http://sonomavalleywine.com/signature-sonoma-valley.

Zinfandel wine tasting event to be held in Ukiah

A zinfandel wine tasting event and seminar will be held Feb. 21 from?6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center.

The event is sponsored by the Mendocino Winegrowers and Zinfandel Advocates & Producers.

Glenn McGourty, the UC Cooperative agricultural advisor for Mendocino County, Charles Brenneman, the winemaker and facilities manager for the UC Davis department of viticulture and enology, and local winemakers will speak about the varietal. Zinfandel from various regions in California will be poured.

The cost is $25 for members of the Mendocino Winegrowers and $35 for non-members. For more information visit: http://pd2go.net/Kmxjve

2 salespeople hired at Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery

Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery in Jenner has hired two people for new sales positions. The winery has traditionally done most of its sales directly to consumers and for a few select accounts.

Lisa Lambertus has been appointed as national sales manager for Eastern states. Lambertus was the western division manager for Hahn Family Wines for the last five years, responsible for a 15-state region. She also previously was the owner of Performance Marketing, a Colorado-based beverage brokerage specializing in the wines of California, South America and Spain. She will be based in Colorado.

Diana Schweiger will serve as national sales manager for Western states. Schweiger previously served as national account manager for Western states at Prestige Beverage Group. She also served as vice president of sales for Schweiger Vineyards & Winery in St. Helena from 2003 to 2015, and has held sales management positions for Southcorp, Paterno Imports and Heublein (Diageo). She will be based in Napa Valley.

“We are excited to have such a strong team of seasoned wine professionals at the helm as we embark on the next phase of our growth as a company,” said Lester Schwartz, owner of Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery, in a statement.

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