2004 Edge took top honors in the cabernet sauvignon category of “best wines $20 and under” during Food & Wine magazine’s American Wine Awards, published in the October issue. A panel of judges who deemed Edge the number one choice said, “It’s tough to find any Napa cabernet for $20 these days, much less one this stylish. Ray Signorello Jr. made this full-bodied, lightly oaked wine from grapes purchased all over Napa Valley, including Stags Leap.”

“It is a great achievement to be honored as a leader in this category,” said Signorello, owner of Signorello Vineyards. “We pride ourselves on creating the best possible product and the accolade from Food & Wine recognizes the quality of Edge and our commitment to creating a remarkable wine.”

 Food & Wine celebrates its 10th American Wine Awards in San Francisco on Oct. 10.

Founded in 2001, Edge is described as “a premium wine without the premium price.” Its Web site is www.edgewines.com

Tony Award-nominee, Tovah Feldshuh, will perform at the “Diamonds in the Rough” charity fundraising dinner, which will be prepared by Hiro Sone of Terra in St. Helena and Ame in San Francisco. The dinner is Oct. 6 at Diamond Creek Vineyards in Napa Valley and is limited to 48 people. Tickets at $2,500 per person benefit the Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale. For more information, contact Boots Brounstein at 942-6926.

Jean-Noel Fourmeaux du Sartel, owner of Chateau Potelle Winery, has announced the sale of his Mt. Veeder property. A press release noted, “We have sold our Mount Veeder property, not the brand, not the inventory, not the business, to Jesse and Barbara Jackson.

“Our big neighbor, with whom we always had great relationship and respect, (has) been trying to buy our property for a long time. We resisted as long as we could! This time, the price combined with other internal factors. Hey, as we say here in the United States, ‘They made us an offer we could not refuse.’ Guess what — even French can be quick learners!!

“Obviously that means changes. But change is the spice of life.

“We are still up the mountain until next spring. That gives us plenty of time to organize ourselves and let you know the new developments.”

Havens Wine Cellars’ new solar-power system will fuel the company’s anticipated 60 percent growth over the next four years, while saving the company as much as $14,000 per year.

“We use quite a bit of electricity at the winery, especially during harvest — cooling the barrel cellar, fermenting musts and running equipment,” said Michael Havens. “The energy that we once spent thousands of dollars on each month is now being generated on our south-facing roof.”

Havens said that, in addition to making business sense, supporting the winery’s growth with renewable energy gives him and his staff a good feeling.  “We’re saving money and being good global citizens at the same time. How great is that?”

The solar power system, designed and installed by San Francisco-based Sunlight Electric, will reduce the winery’s carbon footprint by more than 87,000 pounds of CO2 annually, equivalent to the carbon captured annually by 12 acres of forest.

After rebates and other subsidies, Havens’ net expense will be 26 percent of the project’s total cost. The system will pay for itself in a little over six years.

“The real highlight was the moment when the inverters were turned on and we all watched the meter start to spin backwards,” said Havens. “That’s a blast.”

Four Napa valley vintners will be part of the inaugural Masters of Petite, an event celebrating the ageability of petite sirah Nov. 9 at Markham Vineyards. Among 13 petite sirah producers who will pour vintages of their wine from 1997 or earlier are Markham Vineyards, Robert Biale Vineyards, Stags’ Leap Winery and Vincent Arroyo Winery. A walk-around tasting is from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by dinner with the vintners. Tickets are limited to 200, and cost $120 each. Further information is available at www.psiloveyou.com.

A 40-year vertical of Georges de la Tour is one of the items that will be auctioned at St. Helena Catholic School’s 20th anniversary benefit wine auction “Gala at the Grove” Oct. 6 at Rutherford Grove Winery. Other lots also include a 20-bottle, five-year vertical from Switchback; a six-vintage vertical from Araujo Estate “Eisele Vineyard” cabernet sauvignon; a 20-liter collection from Caymus and a 20-year vertical from Duckhorn’s Three Palms Vineyard

Tickets are $150 and include a four-course dinner, wine and dancing. To purchase tickets, call 963-4677, fax a note with name, address and credit card information to (707) 963-4659 or download a form at shcswineauction.com.

Proxy bidders are welcome and a printable form is available online.

Vintners and others in the wine industry have 90 additional days to weigh in on the proposal to require serving size and nutritional labeling information on wine labels. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and tariff Bureau (TTB) has extended the deadline for comment to Jan. 27.

The regulation would require wineries to put such information as calorie content and carbohydrates per serving and would also require the serving size to be listed on labels. In addition, the amount of alcohol in the wine would have to be disclosed. Currently this is required, but if vintners choose to include this information on the “serving facts” portion of the label instead of the way they do now, they would have to also disclose the calories per serving.

The rules are detailed as Notice No. 73 in the Federal Register.

Submit items for Toast of the Valley to On Wine editor Sasha Paulsen, spaulsen@napanews.com