Wine Tours from Tahoe
That’s the name of a new business based in South Lake Tahoe that provides flexible, small-group tours to a handful of El Dorado County wineries, including Narrow Gate Vineyard and Miraflores. The brainchild of John and Vicki Bain, the tours visit four wineries in six-and-a-half hours, and other touring options are available. For details, visit winetoursfromtahoe.com.

Venge named Tudal winemaker  
Tudal Winery, St. Helena, marked its 30th vintage in 2009 and appointed Kirk Venge as winemaker. Venge, son of winemaker Nils Venge, will continue making wine at Calistoga’s Venge Vineyards, and is also consulting winemaker for Igneous, Hunnicutt, Macauley, Bacio Divino, JAX, B Cellars, Trespass, JR Wine, Frazier and Calistoga Ranch. The Tudal Wine Group (TWG) also announced it has joined the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance and will open a tasting room/event cellar near Oakland’s Jack London Square for its Cerruti Cellars brand, which produces 10-15,000 cases annually. TWG also named veteran wine journalist and former Wines & Vines contributor Alan Goldfarb as director of communications.

Saint James swallows Sapphire
The Saint James Co., Santa Monica, Calif., acquired Sapphire Wines LLC, owner of Eos Estate Winery & Vineyard in Paso Robles, Carneros Creek in Napa, and Wildhurst in Lake County.

Sterile moths released at Chandon  
The USDA on Nov. 5 set out 3,000 sterile light brown apple moths in a 3-square-mile vineyard owned by Domaine Chandon in Carneros. The release represents phase one of the USDA’s LBAM Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) control efforts in Carneros, which was among the first viticulture areas to be quarantined last year when infestations of the invasive pest were found. USDA scientists hope that the sterile male and female moths will breed with the resident population and reduce future infestations. Meanwhile, the California Department of Food and Agriculture confirmed that a single European grapevine moth and larvae were discovered in Oakville, the first such find in the U.S.

Paige Poulos agency will close
After 20 years, Paige Poulos Communications, Richmond, will close officially Dec. 31. The agency headed by Mendocino native Poulos focused on wine industry communication and promotion. Poulos said she and her husband and business partner of 20 years, John Woolley, will take a 12-month sabbatical, and that new contact information for her team will be forthcoming.

Terry Adams to retire from Sonoma-Cutrer
Adams has made wine for Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards since it was established in 1981, and has been director of winemaking for 10 years. He plans to retire next spring.

Winemaker Anderson to consult   
Kirby Anderson, Gainey Vineyard winemaker, started a consulting business, Avisa Wine Design, to help clients produce food-friendly wines of character and elegance. Previously with Bernardus and La Crema, Anderson will continue working with Gainey on its Evan’s Ranch project as well as Prodigal Wines, and Triple T and Westerly in the new Happy Canyon AVA.

Rockpile growers publish brochure 
Members of the Rockpile Grape Growers Association published a four-color brochure highlighting the Sonoma County appellation’s terrain, wine and high-elevation vineyards. Fewer than 160 of the AVA’s 15,000 acres are planted to winegrapes, and there are no wineries within the area, although about a dozen make appellation-specific wine. Download or order the brochure at rockpileappellation.com.

Kimberly Stalwick dies at 54 
Thirty-year wine industry veteran Kimberly Stalwick, Pacific division manager for Hahn Family Wines, died suddenly Nov. 2, due to complications from cancer. A former wine broker, she joined Hahn in 2002.