“We successfully automated almost every irrigation set last season,” said Andrew Oliver, Vineyard Manager at Antinori. “Lumo’s pump automation is an absolute game changer for our team,” agreed Hunter Emch, Northern Unit Area Manager at Redwood Empire Vineyard Management. REVM and Antinori are two early users of Lumo’s Pump Automation product, a powerful new integration with its smart valve platform that automates irrigation scheduling and execution from end to end. The solution has already been deployed at ranches ranging in size from 60 to 1,300 acres. Real-time, block-level flow and pressure data from Lumo smart valves is used to verify performance, dial in precision, and keep critical infrastructure safe. Over 150 ranches in Napa, Sonoma, the Central Coast, the Okanagan Valley and Washington State are already using Lumo’s precision irrigation system to close their execution gap, increase operational efficiency, and irrigate to plan. In July

Lumo, the precision irrigation system growers use to irrigate to plan, has just released their new Irrigation Insights Report titled, Closing the Execution Gap: How Block-Level Irrigation Data Drives Profitability. The report presents first-of-its-kind block-level irrigation data collected from more than 4,500 irrigation events across hundreds of premium vineyard blocks in Napa and Sonoma over the course of the 2024 growing season. The central finding is that irrigation system performance is highly variable at an individual block level—one in ten irrigations miss their target volume by 50% or more and three in four irrigations miss by 10% or more. This lack of precision hurts growers’ ability to execute irrigations to plan and is costing them thousands of dollars an acre in lost productivity. The good news is that the report also highlights four data-driven strategies winegrape growers can adopt to dial in their irrigation precision and produce better crop outcomes. &ldqu

Sonoma, CA, April 22, 2025 – Free Flow Wines announced the winners of the 12th annual KEGGY Awards, honoring wine on tap leaders for their extraordinary environmental impact and commitment to sustainability. For the first time, the awards are being celebrated in April to align with Earth Month, reinforcing Free Flow’s mission to drive a more sustainable future for the wine industry with reusable steel kegs – a truly zero-waste package. Additionally, Free Flow expanded award categories this year to also recognize winery partners who have saved over 50K and 2MM bottles from the landfill.  “We changed the award schedule to Earth Month to reflect one of our core values: sustainability.” said Rich Bouwer, CEO of Free Flow Wines. “It is an exciting time to be talking about our wine on tap partners. Despite ongoing challenges in the alcohol beverage sector, keg shipments through Free Flow Wines have continued to grow—proving that wine on tap is n

HEALDSBURG — The owners and management at Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estates at 4155 Wine Creek Road pay particular attention to sustainability in the winery and vineyard, where the company has made significant strides in solar energy efficiency and water conservation. “Our reservoir is filled by winter and spring rains, and provides 100 percent of our water needed for irrigating our vineyards, thus eliminating the need to divert much-needed water from our drought-depleted rivers and streams,” said Chief Financial Officer Jeff Cummings. “Today we have a solar energy system providing 99.9 percent of our electricity needs. The only exception is a single water pump powered by a separate line. "We haven’t paid a penny for power since turning on this system". Excess electricity produced by this solar array is fed back into the grid, and our invoice from PG&E showed a big credit on the first anniversary after installing the panels. For us, this is z

More Than 220,000 Acres in California are Enrolled in FFF Program  NAPA, Calif. (November 25, 2024) – Thirty-two winegrape growers and wineries from Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties have been recognized with the Founders’ Award from the Fish Friendly Farming Certification program for achieving and maintaining certification for more than 20 years. In 1999, the Fish Friendly Farming Certification program was created to protect and enhance the Russian River watershed in Sonoma County. Soon, it was expanded with a specific program tailored for Napa County and other regions. Today, more than 220,000 acres located in thirteen counties in California are enrolled in the innovative program that improves water quality and wildlife habitat. “The Fish Friendly Farming certification has become very popular among winegrowers as a sustainable certification program because it is highly effective in improving water quality and restoring fish and wildlife habitat,&rd

Get Your TICKETS HERE Starting November 20th Make this a day to stock up on the wines you will need for those holiday dinners and gifts. At the same time, check some goodies off your shopping list, by shopping with the local producers/vendors featured at each winery. Feel good knowing that $10 from each ticket sold will be donated to the Redwood Empire Food Bank. If you are looking for an affordable way to get out and taste some wine, this is THE ticket! No tasting fees and no prior reservation required. 30 Wineries / 3 Valleys / 1 Day / $40

It’s generally believed that farmers are slow to adopt new technology. Yet, while this adage may be true for more expensive and untested innovations, when a new technology is practical, affordable and can prove its value and reliability, farmers will indeed set aside their innate caution and readily invest. Tyler Klick is a case in point. As the viticulturist and a co-owner of Redwood Empire Vineyard Management in Geyserville, CA, he decided to try an innovative smart irrigation technology developed by Lumo. Klick first installed Lumo smart valves on a few client vineyards last season. After seeing how they helped increase labor efficiency, reduce wasted water, and improve clients’ crop outcomes, he rolled it out to more than a dozen vineyards his company manages. “I’d love to get to a point where all of our clients have it installed,” says Klick. Lumo smart valves also help West Coast viticulturists adjust to changing weather patterns, which have brought

Take a look at any number of Tasting Room Associate job ads, and it becomes apparent we need to hire unicorns – rare, mystical, and never seen in the wild except by a chosen few. We are seeking that blend of hospitality heart, wine knowledge, and hopefully sales skills. Every new opportunity to hire is the chance to go searching for unicorns, and luckily, there is a strategy to help find them! First, let’s define what a successful DTC candidate needs to have. Hospitality Heart. A Hospitality Heart, which is impossible to train for, is something the candidate either has or not. It is the rarest quality, hidden, and can be bluffed if needed. WISE calls this Service Heart. In our Mystery Shopping, we are looking for Service Heart – the deep seeded desire of that teammate to be helpful, kind, and truly wanting to be of service, and not just there to punch a time clock and collect a paycheck. At the Union Square Hospitality Group, Danny Meyer has taken great care to d

Growers Enjoy Near Perfect Growing Season SANTA ROSA, Calif. (October 31, 2024) – The 2024 winegrape harvest has just completed in Sonoma County and both growers and vineyard employees are raving about what may be one the best vintages in the past 50 years. According to Karissa Kruse, president and CEO of the Sonoma County Winegrowers, “the best word to describe the 2024 Sonoma County harvest is smooth!” Added Kruse, “The tonnage varied by grape variety and AVA, but the quality was outstanding across the region. As the vineyards turn dormant, most farmers are hosting celebratory lunches and parties for their vineyard employees and crews and relaxing a bit before pruning season and another cycle begins.” The start in early to mid-August for most grape growers was considered a return to normal, after a late start in 2023. The season was blessed with beautiful weather and little to no pressure to pick until the fruit was showing its best flavors and acid

History Drunk Turtle is a family-owned company led by the Brini family and located in Pontedera, Tuscany, Italy. The company was founded in 2014 by a group of wine industry professionals, architects, and engineers who repurposed an ancient Roman concrete recipe: "Cocciopesto" for building wine fermentation and maturation vessels called Opus. The name Drunk Turtle is derived from Italy's Slow food movement, the extremely hard shell of a turtle and the love for wine. Today The Brini family are now the sole owners of the company and are also involved in the wine industry with their family winery: Il Conventino, located in Montepulciano, Italy, and their Tuscan gin brand: Ginepraio. Through years of research and development with the University of Pisa, Drunk Turtle has perfected their Cocciopesto recipe and currently produces more than 200 Opus a year which are sold predominantly in France, Italy, and other important winemaking countries. Material - Cocciopesto Cocciopest