Brunton Vineyards, Inc., a division of Brunton Vineyards Holdings, Inc. announced that it has received a Letter of Intent from Zhejiang Ouhai International Trade Corporation for the distribution and delivery of a minimum of 1,200 containers per year of the company’s wine brand, Addison Cole. The proposed transaction translates to approximately 1,000,000 cases of wine for the year, with an approximate annual contract value of $80,000,000. The first purchase order is scheduled to be received by mid to late April 2007, once details are finalized pertaining to label design and compliance specific to the Chinese market.

“The James Irvine Foundation said Thursday it gave $250,000 to four community groups to help the state’s farmworkers. The San Francisco foundation gave the money to help workers who have lost jobs because of a crop freeze in January. The Irvine Foundation gave $75,000 each to the Ventura County Community Foundation; the Desert Community Foundation, which is based in Palm Desert; and the United Way of Tulare County. It also gave $25,000 to the Community Foundation for Monterey County.”

The Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal reports that wine sales are up: “U.S. wine exports, 95 percent from California, totaled $876 million and 404.5 million liters in 2006, an increase of 30 percent in value and 4 percent in volume compared to 2005, according to the Wine Institute International Department… ‘The dramatic sales growth in 2006 must be placed in perspective as it follows a decrease in 2005 compared to the 2004 shipments,’ said Joseph Rollo, Director of the Wine Institute International Department, in a news release. ‘Nonetheless, the long-term trend of California wine exports shows steady expansion in all major markets and growth in new, undeveloped markets. The 2006 number represents a 59 percent increase in exports by value in the last decade’.”

“President George W. Bush is issuing a disaster declaration for California counties hurt by the January deep freeze that caused some $1.2 billion (€910 million) in crop losses, Sen. Barbara Boxer said. The declaration will allow farmers affected by the freeze that wiped out citrus and other crops to apply for disaster unemployment insurance, commodities and other help. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Boxer, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and congressional representatives had written to the White House repeatedly to ask for the declaration. Administration officials confirmed to Boxer on Tuesday that it was being issued. The five-night freeze was the most extensive the state had experienced since 1947, according to Boxer and Feinstein, and affected crops for 500 miles (804 kilometers) through the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, the Central Coast and Southern California.”

“Mitch Clark and Jim Buckley, two Bay Area wine industry veterans with links to both Robert and Michael Mondavi, have purchased Scott Street Portfolio Inc., a wine importing company previously owned by Australia’s Evans & Tate Wine Group… The new owners are renaming the company Avanti Fine Wine Selections LLC. They also plan to expand its scope to include fine wines from California, Oregon, Washington and imports from France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria and South Africa, in addition to Australia.”

“The Wine Institute, which represents more than 1,000 California wineries and related businesses, said Friday it strongly supports a request by U.S. trade representatives for World Trade Organization-sponsored talks to reduce what it called India’s ‘prohibitive duties’ on U.S. wines and distilled spirits. The San Francisco-based wine industry trade association wants the WTO to set up dispute-settlement talks to resolve the disagreement. India, with a population of more than 1 billion people and a rapidly growing economy, is becoming an increasingly important market for international wines and spirits producers, including those from California and the United States. But producers complain that it imposes several layers of additional duties on imports of wine and distilled spirits beyond basic customs duties.”

From selling irrigation pumps to tractors, agricultural equipment sales provide jobs to nearly 7,000 Californians, according to a report commissioned by farm-equipment manufacturers…. For California, employment in the wholesale distribution of agricultural machinery and equipment accounted for 0.05 percent of total statewide employment, 0.99 percent of statewide wholesale distribution employment, and 1.94 percent of statewide durable goods wholesale distribution employment, says Global Insight Inc., the firm that compiled the report”. The full report can be found at this link: http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/links/USAgEquip2007.pdf

“Ernest Gallo, whose pioneering use of advertising helped develop the U.S. mass market for wine and built the family-owned E&J Gallo Winery into the largest U.S. maker, died this afternoon of natural causes at his home in Modesto, California. ‘The American wine industry, particularly the California wine industry, owes an enormous amount of gratitude to the Gallo brothers,’ Robert Koch, president of trade group Wine Institute, said in a statement. As chairman of the company, Ernest Gallo worked until his mid-90s, although he passed his duties as chief executive office to his son, Joseph E. Gallo, in 2001. The company ranks as the second-largest wine company in the world after Constellation Brands Inc., selling 65 million to 70 million cases each year in more than 90 countries. Although Joseph E. Gallo spearheaded the global expansion, he spoke deferentially of his father’s business skills… Ernest Gallo was born March 18, 1909, in Jackson, California, 125 miles east of San Francisco. His parents, Giuseppe and Assunta Gallo, were Italian immigrants who operated a boardinghouse in the Sierra foothills in the waning days of the Gold Rush.”

“Pacific Ethanol Inc. will start construction within the next month on a 50-million-gallon per year ethanol plant in Calipatria, a small community about 150 miles east of San Diego. Once completed, the Sacramento-based company will have four plants with the goal of making 220 million gallons of fuel ethanol a year by 2008 — or almost a fourth of the 900-million gallons expected to be used this year in the state”

“California is the top destination for travelers whose vacation plans include food festivals, wine tours and other culinary pursuits, according to a new study from the Travel Industry Association. California was cited as a destination for food-related travel by 14 percent of those surveyed, followed by Florida (10 percent), New York (7 percent)…California was also the No. 1 choice for wine-related travel, cited by 31 percent of those surveyed.”

“A California rice grower group today called for a moratorium on any outdoor production of genetically modified rice based on the results of a new study. The Rice Producers of California, a group of 200 Sacramento Valley rice growers, advises a ban to protect key export markets worth more than $200 million in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Turkey. Those markets account for 40 percent of California’s annual rice crop, the report states.”

“Smart & Final Inc. has agreed to sell to an affiliate of Apollo Management LP for $22 a share in cash, the company said Tuesday… The Apollo affiliate has also entered a stock purchase agreement with Paris-based Casino Guichard-Perrachon, S.A. that owns about 55 percent of Smart & Final’s common stock… City of Commerce-based Smart & Final Inc. operates 254 non-membership warehouse stores for food and food-service supplies in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and northern Mexico.”

First wine, then cheese, now, according to the International Herold Tribune, California is gaining a reputation as a producer of premium chocolates: “by 2000 California had edged out Pennsylvania, home of Hershey’s, to become the nation’s chocolate capital. In 2004, the last year for which figures were available, California had 136 companies churning out chocolate and cocoa products compared to Pennsylvania’s 122″

“Growers cooperation Apofruit Italia has come to an agreement with Sun World International (California). Apofruit has obtained production and distribution rights on Sun World patented plums, such as Angeleno and Black Diamond, and seedless grapes, such for example Sugraone. Renzo Piraccini, Apofruit general director comments: ‘As well as in other fruit varieties, the grape sector does also need innovation to grow. We see a great potential for seedless grapes and we want to step into this market. Our aim is to reach a production of 5K MT seedless grapes to be sold on the international markets’. “

“The Genetic Engineering Policy Alliance, a group representing California businesses and organizations concerned about genetic engineering, was launched today to push for laws protecting the state’s agriculture from genetic engineering (GE). More than 50 members have signed the platform, including the Breast Cancer Fund, California Council of Churches, Consumer Action, the California Farmers Union, Whole Foods Markets, United Natural Foods Inc. and Bon Appétit Management Company. The Genetic Engineering Policy Alliance platform, released today, calls for public notice of all plantings of GE crops in California, labeling of all food that contains GE ingredients, liability protection for farmers whose crops are unintentionally contaminated, and a ban on the planting of industrial and pharmaceutical crops.”

“A record-breaking California freeze, which began in January and may have ruined or damaged as much as three-quarters of the state’s citrus crop, has sent U.S. prices up and quality down, especially for navel oranges and lemons. California agriculture officials say farmers have lost $1.2 billion in crops so far, and predict that the figure could go higher. Navel oranges account for the biggest financial loss, about $465 million.”

More than two dozen Farm Bureau leaders were in Washington D.C. last week, lobbying the new Congress on a variety of issues. The trip to Washington, D.C. is part of a continuing effort by CFBF leaders to build awareness of the issues vital to California and U.S. agriculture. “To bring a group of this size and caliber to Washington says a lot about our commitment to resolving the issues we face,” said said CFBF Vice President Paul Wenger, “We went back with a very ambitious agenda and we got through it. Most of our board members have worked the halls of Congress before. They know their way around.”

“Revionics Inc., a company that provides software to help small- and medium-size grocery stores price products, has added C&K Markets to its list of grocery retail customers. Brookings, Ore.-based C&K Markets is implementing Granite Bay-based Revionics’ Advanced Pricing System at all 59 of its stores… Founded in 1957, C&K Markets is the largest privately held retail grocery chain in Oregon. The company is supplied by Unified Western Grocers, based in Commerce.”

“Human BioSystems announced today that HBS BioEnergy, has formed a joint venture with Visalia based Dairy Development Group and Agrimass Enviro-Energy to build an Energy Park in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The Energy Park will utilize waste from surrounding dairies to provide the power needed to fuel a proposed ethanol plant to be located on site. ‘The joint venture involves developing and operating an innovative agricultural waste-to-energy park,’ explained Len Chapman, Founder and CEO of Agrimass Enviro-Energy and Dairy Development Group. ‘This is the perfect model for agricultural production because it takes a problem – manure – and turns it into power and other energy products, which then fuels the ethanol plant that produces cleaner-burning fuels. This is the kind of green industry we need in the Valley.’ “

“Permit and planning problems have held up construction of a sprawling Riverside distribution center for supermarket giant Tesco PLC and two suppliers. But the British retailer says the delays won’t significantly affect its billion-dollar U.S. plans. One of the world’s largest grocery companies, Tesco doesn’t operate any U.S. stores right now. But it intends to open 100 to 150 in 2007 and 2008, and compete with Vons, Ralphs, Albertsons, Stater Bros., Traders Joe’s and others.”