Passion, uncorked

Excerpt from NorthBay biz magazine
By: Christina Julian

Three women, three friends, three diverse approaches to business, yet one driving force unites them: passion. Barbara R. Banke, chairwoman and proprietor of Jackson Family Wines, partners with Peggy Furth, former co-proprietor of Chalk Hill Estates, to form SonomaCeuticals, while Sandra Jordan, formerly of Jordan Winery, sits at the helm of her own Sandra Jordan Prima Alpaca Collection. Each woman is unique in her own right, and each has a legendary career in the wine industry. Today, instead of running from a faltering economy, these women are charging forward with entrepreneurial ventures that are taking them beyond the traditional business of wine to include eradicating poverty and building a sustainable future. Click to continue reading

AVAs—Creating Confusion or Selling More Wine?

Excerpt from NorthBay biz magazine
By: Christina Julian

One could argue that Napa Valley became known as a world-renowned wine and grape growing region when it “got on the map” as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 1981. But many battle lines have been drawn since then over the official delineation of subappellations, as growers, vintners and wineries duke it out for their slice of the Napa Valley pie. Memories of Calistoga’s six-year battle still linger, a fight that necessitated multiple trips to the nation’s capital to lobby the cause. While few could dispute the uniqueness of the region’s terroir, it was the “if it isn’t our grapes in the bottle, it shouldn’t be our name on the label” controversy that caused this particular battle to rage on so long.

As a Calistoga resident, I supported the cause, but have to wonder: At what point does the continued separation of the Napa Valley AVA threaten to dilute the brand we fought so hard to win? Perhaps more important, when do we risk outsmarting the very consumers we rely on to sustain us? Sure, many locals are familiar with the levels of distinction across our small stretch of the wine world, but does anybody outside Napa Valley know or care that Coombsville landed its gold star AVA status while Pine Mountain-Mayacmas (status pending at press time; purposely spelled with the U.S. Geological Survey name as opposed to the more common Mayacamas) still fights for its? When is enough enough? Click here to continue reading