What We're Reading --

Moulds Family Vineyard Napa Valley estate being offered for $25 million

A 56-acre vineyard estate owned by the Moulds family is being sold for $25 million, according to Sotheby's International Realty. (Napa Valley Register)

Bottle manufacturers, take note

There may be encouraging signs that an increasing number of wine producers are aware of the need for lighter bottles, but are bottle manufacturers? (Jancis Robinson)

Iconic California Heritage Clones Continue to Drive Modern Winemaking

historic grapevines that were collected from the Old World over the past 125 years, identified for beneficial traits (like hearty yields or intense flavors) and then planted in vineyards across the Golden State. This category is dominated by dozens of selections of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, most originally from Burgundy, but there are also a handful of Rhône and Bordeaux clones, as well as examples of lesser-known varieties. (Napa Valley Register)

What the TTB gets wrong in label approvals

In reviewing labels for approval the TTB staff are primarily looking for: (1) a set of required items and (2) “prohibited” items not to be there.In contrast to this they are not always paying close attention to the correctness of commonly used items such as AVAs. The result is that sometimes labels are approved that clearly should not have been approved. (Wine Compliance Alliance)