How to fill the wine glass

Wines & Vines, Nov, 2002 by John Gillespie

Suffering from dizziness, shortness of breath, fuzzy vision and drowsiness, the four spent most of a day in treatment at a nearby hospital, where Lindsay was also injected to halt continuous vomiting.

Methyl bromide is a colorless, odorless gas that is pumped into the ground to rid soil of diseases and pests. Tri-Cal, Inc., applied the chemical at the direction of Lloyd Vineyard Management, which is developing the vineyard for Williams-Selyem. A spokesman for Lloyd said the fumigation was done under safe conditions: the ground covered with plastic, and the wind blowing away from Bynum. Tri-Cal's workers were not adversely affected by the fumigation.

Methyl bromide, a known ozone-depleting substance, is being phased out by the federal government, but is legal until 2005. Bynum's vineyards are farmed organically, using no chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. The incident is still under investigation.

(John Gillespie, president of the Wine Market Council (WMC), delivered this speech at the 11th annual Wine Industry Financial Symposium in Napa in September.)