Lake County vintners propose new wine region east of Clear Lake

The federal government on Wednesday proposed a new wine region for Lake County on the eastern side of Clear Lake.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has put out for comment a proposal for a new Long Valley wine region, which would be to the north and east of the already recognized High Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA).

The proposal was put forth by Don Van Pelt of Cache Creek Vineyards and Clay Shannon of Shannon Family of Wines. It would include approximately 7,605 acres with three wineries and five commercial vineyards of almost 150 acres. The area features a long, narrow valley floor between surrounding mountains and has soil consisting from lake deposits of limestone, gravel and volcanic rocks.

The proposal also would expand the boundary of the North Coast AVA so that the entire High Valley and proposed Long Valley would be included, which would net those grapes a higher price value when they are made into wine.

The agency is accepting comments on the proposal through May 9.

Duckhorn reports net drop while sales boost in earnings report

The Duckhorn Portfolio Thursday reported net income for the second quarter of $17.9 million, which was an almost 23% decrease from the same period a year ago.

The St. Helena-based company, which owns Sebastopol’s Kosta Browne winery and Mendocino County’s Goldeneye, noted in its earnings report that its net sales were $98.7 million during the quarter that ended on Jan. 31. That was an increase of $15.1 million from the previous period a year ago.

Chief Executive Officer Alex Ryan credited the sales growth from its flagship labels of Duckhorn Vineyards and Decoy and was bullish as the industry emerges from the pandemic.

“The brands continued to see distribution growth across a variety of demographics and their power to expand into new price points gives us confidence that they will produce industry-leading results over the long-term,” Ryan said.

In another move, the company announced Gayle Bartscherer has been tapped as its next chief marketing officer. Bartscherer had worked for 14 years at Jackson Family Wines of Santa Rosa, most recently serving as a senior vice president.

She replaces Carol Reber, who is leaving Duckhorn after 12 years.

New tasting room opens in Windsor

J. Cage Cellars has opened a tasting room near the downtown Windsor Green.

The winery, founded by Roger and Donna Beery in 2014, has joined Mengler Family Wines at the new space at 834 McClelland Drive.

The couple started a wine blog titled Bacchus and Beery in 2009 that led them to eventually creating the wine label. Their oldest child, Conch, leads the winemaking for the winery. He received his viticulture and enology undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University and previously worked at Long Meadow Ranch. Adam Lee also serves as consulting winemaker.

A tasting flight is priced at $25 and a pinot noir flight sells for $35. Information: www.jcage.com.

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