#vine-removal

#vine-removal

We want an end to the use of herbicides in our creeks. This idea that we're just going to spray, hose down these creeks and leave them dead is unacceptable. Linas and other residents have filed requests for records detailing the chemicals the county uses to control vegetation in the waterways, such as glyphosate, triclopyr and imazapyr.

In the quiet vineyards and hills of Northern California, few names resonate with the same sense of purpose and dedication as Robert White Napa. Known for his decades-long commitment to trauma and general surgery, community health, and regional leadership, he represents a bridge between clinical excellence and civic engagement. His career and personal journey tell a story of faith, resilience, and a steady devotion to the well-being of others.

the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) rules, set by the USDA, declared that importers-that's right, the firms that typically handle sales and logistics, not just the winemakers- also need to be certified organic in order for the wines to retain the label. According to a spokesperson from the USDA, the regulations are an effort to "better protect organic businesses and consumers" and "keep fraud out of the market."

I've visited California wine country several times over the past couple of years, including many trips to the iconic Napa Valley. And although I definitely recommend a trip to Napa, there's another nearby wine region that I find myself returning to even more often: Sonoma. More than just the city of Sonoma, the entire county feels like its own world. With rolling vineyards, rugged beaches, and redwood forests, it offers so much more than wine alone. Here's why this region stole my heart.

Gallo is aligning parts of our operations with our longterm business strategy to ensure we remain wellpositioned for future success, the company said in a statement emailed to this news organization. As part of this process, we made the difficult decision to reduce certain Wine Country operations. The layoffs are scheduled to occur on April 15, the WARN letters show. All affected employees are receiving personalized support, transition packages, and opportunities to explore other roles within Gallo, the company said.

According to Mike Zolnikov, who tends a couple of acres of Pinot Noir and an acre of Chardonnay on a flat, slightly soggy patch of the central Willamette Valley, in Oregon, it had been a once-in-a-decade growing season. "Not too hot, not too wet," he recalled, wistfully. "It would have been a really great year." A few hundred miles south, in California's Napa Valley, the winemaker Ashley Egelhoff, of Honig Vineyard and Winery, was feeling similarly about her Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc.

The exact volume of the spill remains unknown as crews continue to monitor the site. Tiffen noted that a final estimate will not be available until reports are submitted to state regulators, adding that the massive volume of stormwater currently in the river makes testing for pathogens more difficult. "It's complicated by the amount of storm water and how that would affect testing regardless of a spill," Tiffen said. "Because it tends to muddy the water, so to speak."

Jesse Hall can't remember a time he wasn't inseparable from the sea. Born and raised in Sonoma County, Hall spent his youth surfing the Marin coast and sailing San Francisco Bay. By his early 20s, he was shaping surfboards in San Diego, where he rode the mellow waves of Pacific Beach. "Winemaking is similar to surfing in that you're living moment by moment," said Hall, founder of Seawolf Wines in Mendocino County's Yorkville Highlands.

The question of how to protect fish and the ecological health of rivers that feed California's largest estuary is generating heated debate in a series of hearings in Sacramento, as state officials try to gain support for a plan that has been years in the making. "I am passionate that this is the pathway to recover fish," said state Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. "This is the paradigm we need: collaborative, adaptive management versus conflict and litigation."

Jesse Hall can't remember a time he wasn't inseparable from the sea. Born and raised in Sonoma County, Hall spent his youth surfing the Marin coast and sailing San Francisco Bay. By his early 20s, he was shaping surfboards in San Diego, where he rode the mellow waves of Pacific Beach. Winemaking is similar to surfing in that you're living moment by moment, said Hall, founder of Seawolf Wines in Mendocino County's Yorkville Highlands.

"Five to ten years ago, sustainability was often limited to buzzwords or isolated practices," he says. "Today, it is holistic, intentional, and deeply embedded into every aspect of the visitor experience."

We recommended to the county to wait for the Court of Appeal to rule on whether the (permanent) injunction was legal, but the county did what they did," Hoopes told the Journal.

Only eight miles long by three miles wide, the small wine region established its AVA (American Viticultural Area) in 1982, just one year after Napa Valley. It's only one-tenth the size of its famous neighbor, yet the diversity in tasting rooms is impressive. You can travel from a blue Victorian house to gorgeous gardens, a vintage gas station-turned-tasting room, and even an award-winning modern architectural masterpiece all within minutes.

Two pillars of the Santa Cruz Mountains wine region passed away late last year, taking their stories with them: Robert (Bob) Mullen, who founded Woodside Vineyards in 1963, and Dr. Thomas Fogarty, renowned inventor of the balloon catheter, who also founded Thomas Fogarty Winery in 1981. Mullen died on Nov. 24, 2025, after celebrating his 99th birthday in February. He wanted to make it to 100, says his wife, Marsha Campbell. But his body just gave out.

In 2025, legacy Oregon craft brewery Rogue Ales & Spirits filed for bankruptcy and shuttered operations, California uprooted 38,134 acres of wine grapes (in order to cope with overproduction and stymie future excess crops), and Jim Beam announced it would cease production of bourbon at its main distillery for the duration of 2026. An increasing push toward sobriety has flooded the market with nonalcoholic alternatives to traditional tipples.