News Briefs for August 1, 2012
August 1, 2012•DFV Wines is reportedly planning a multimillion dollar expansion of its winery in Manteca, California. According to local media reports, the five-year, three-phase project will include the installation of new refrigeration, centrifuge and filtration equipment and formation tanks, as well as additional barrel storage, an upgraded wastewater treatment system and a new office area, among other features. The expansion is expected to grow annual capacity from 12 million cases to 16 million cases.
•With the U.S. Supreme Court recently declining to hear the appeal brought by Cubaexport and Pernod Ricard over the Havana Club rum trademark in the United States, the Miami Herald reports that Cubaexport has filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) asserting that its possession of the Havana Club trademark is “frozen while the embargo of Cuba is in place,” and can’t be revoked. The USPTO has yet to render a decision on the trademark, but Bacardi is reportedly already planning a national rollout of its own Puerto Rican-produced Havana Club brand, which it already sells in small quantities in Florida, anticipating that the USPTO will deny Cubaexport’s petition.
•California’s PlumpJack Group plans to rename its recently purchased Stags Leap District winery (the former Steltzner Vineyards site) Odette Estate. PlumpJack, owned by California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and billionaire philanthropist Gordon Getty, has begun renovating the site and replanting its 36 acres of vineyards to convert them to 100% organic farming. The upgrades are expected to be complete by the end of next year. Approximately 10,000 cases of Odette Estate Cabernet Sauvignon will be produced annually, along with another new label, Adaptation, focusing on the Napa Valley appellation. PlumpJack purchased the Steltzner Vineyards site, but not the brand, in early February for an undisclosed sum.
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