Sebastopol winery Emeritus Vineyards expands its reach

Emeritus Vineyards has expanded its distribution partnership with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits to include California for the family-owned winery located just north of Sebastopol.

Previously, Southern Glazer’s had represented Emeritus in 12 states, including top markets such as Texas, Florida and New York. The company is the largest wine and spirits distributor in the United States.

Emeritus works with other distributors in 11 additional states.

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates gets new CEO

Jim Mortensen, CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, is retiring and will be replaced by David Dearie.

The Woodinville, Washington business was the ninth-largest wine company in the United States in 2019, producing an estimated 8.2 million cases last year, according to Wine Business Monthly. Locally, it owns Patz & Hall in Sonoma and Napa County’s Conn Creek and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.

Dearie previously worked at Treasury Wine Estates, where he was CEO and managing director of Foster’s Wine Group. He also spent more than a decade in senior executive roles at Brown-Forman Corp.

Napa farm bureau to hold continuing education classes

Napa County Farm Bureau Foundation is hosting a series of continuing education classes for the public for the next two months.

The classes will be held virtually. The sessions include one on Nov. 11 that will focus on soil, from growing cover crops to managing weeds. The Nov. 19 class will center on coping with climate change; the Dec. 3 session will be on identifying, measuring and promoting beneficial soil microbes; and the last one on Dec. 10 will be about notable innovations in vineyard pest management.

To register for the Farm Bureau’s continuing education classes, visit napafarmbureau.org/events or call 707-224-5403.

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