Dick Vermeil, Super Bowl winner and two-time NFL Coach-of-the-Year, has announced the formation of the Vermeil Wine Group. 

Domaine Alfred, the Edna Valley producers of pinot noir and chardonnay, are joining the Crimson Wine Group portfolio, which also includes Pine Ridge Vineyards in the Stags Leap appellation, Archery Summit Winer in Oregon, and Double Canyon Vineyards, a new winery in eastern Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills that will be releasing its first vintage in fall 2009.

The family owned and operated Cobblestone Vineyards has gone global with the acquisition of a New Zealand pinot noir vineyard.

St. Helena’s Spring Mountain Vineyard releases its 2004 Elivette at  a bistro-inspired afternoon of Gypsy jazz and French café cuisine Saturday, Sept. 6,  11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Villa Miravelle. Space is limited and tickets are $60 per person. For information, e-mail leah@springmtn.com or call 967-4188.

Randy and Lisa Lynch, owners of Bennett Lane Winery, have rolled out a new program, specialized for groups of six or more at their tasting room in Calistoga.

A Dozen Vintners plans a harvest celebration with gourmet food and wine from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6. The celebration includes  music, art and wines from several vintners paired with dishes created by chef Abby McManigle.

The Napa Valley Vintners have joined Stand Up To Cancer’s “Just Stand Up,” initiative to raise funds to accelerate cancer research. “Just Stand Up” is a gathering of female stars from the music industry who will perform for a fundraiser broadcast on the major television networks at 8 p.m. tonight.

Napa Valley Grapegrowers host the first Harvest Stomp, “the ultimate harvest party celebrating with good food, good friends and great wines,” from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6. Proceeds will help fund the organization’s community and farmworker education and outreach programs.

Gundlach Bundschu celebrates its sesquicentennial with “Towle’s Hill,” a one-man play, the national tour of which culminates on Sept. 28 with a benefit performance for the Boys & Girls Club of Sonoma County at the Sebastiani Theater in Sonoma.

Recently there was a little flap involving a fake wine list from a fake restaurant — the so-called Osteria L’Intrepido  — that won a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. I guess that Robin Goldstein, the man who perpetrated this minor hoax, thought himself clever and he broadcast his deception far and wide. The bogus list included many wines that Spectator had trashed — lots of wines with scores below a rating of 70. Oh, naughty fellow!

A six-year-old Napa winery that produces 5,000 cases a year is setting aside 20 percent of its production for Chinese markets.

On the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Vintner Hall of Fame member Miljenko “Mike” Grgich will join with Roots of Peace Founder-CEO Heidi Kuhn to toss the first coins into a new fountain dedicated to peace at Grgich Hills Estate winery. All coins collected in the fountain at the entrance to the winery will be donated to Roots of Peace, an organization that works worldwide to transform minefields into vineyards.

With last week’s hot spell, the grapes ripened rapidly and pushed workers from playing a waiting game to one of action — at least in a few areas of the county.