The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an emergency halt to new vineyards and orchards on forested slopes and hilltops. The four-month freeze was prompted by a wave of new vineyard projects and a need to update 12-year-old farming regulations that don’t deal with tree removal. What, if any, changes would you like to see?

The late wine mogul Jess Jackson’s bid to rename a prominent mountain that loomed over his Alexander Valley estate has been rejected by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names. On Thursday, it voted 11-0 to keep the name Black Mountain, citing no desire to remove the long-standing name of the 3,128-foot ridge.

There may be more wine tasting rooms in downtown Healdsburg than some people want, but the City Council decided Tuesday not to impose new restrictions on them. “I think there’s an over-concentration of wine tasting rooms in the community. Does it mean I want to change it? No,” said Councilman Jim Wood. “The market ebb and flow will take care of it.”

Efren Carrillo, chairman of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, has come out swinging against a winemaker with a recent history of controversial tree removals. The winemaker, Paul Hobbs, in turn says he’s being unfairly pilloried, but he’s facing complications beyond Carrillo’s withering words.

California’s wine industry praised a new trade pact between the United States and South Korea, saying it would open doors to a promising wine market. The trade deal is America’s biggest free-trade agreement since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

The state pension fund is parting ways with Premier Pacific Vineyards, a Napa firm that manages its portfolio of vineyard properties. Sources say the move threatens Preservation Ranch, the controversial 1,769-acre forest-to-vineyard conversion project in northwestern Sonoma County.

The Healdsburg City Council on Monday unanimously approved a use permit for a proposed wine bar that had been stymied last month by the Planning Commission, which was conflicted over whether there are too many alcohol establishments downtown. “If we want to have a larger discussion on wine tasting and bars, we can have it at a different time,” Councilman Jim Wood said.

Healdsburg, one of Wine Country’s premiere tourist destinations, is going through some soul-searching over the plethora of tasting rooms downtown. Some residents say Healdsburg has reached saturation when it comes to places that serve alcohol. The issue will come before the City Council next week.

Republican presidential frontrunner Rick Perry is swinging by Sonoma County next week for a fund-raiser at Healdsburg’s elite Jordan Vineyard and Winery. Want to drop by? It costs $500 per person, or $2,500 for a photo and private chat with the Texas governor. About 100 to 150 donors are expected to attend.

State water regulators Tuesday approved a sweeping set of rules to govern how vineyard and orchard operators in the Russian River watershed use water to protect crops from springtime frost. The decision on one of the North Coast’s most contentious natural resource issues came over the continued opposition of some growers, who said the rules were unnecessary, unjustified and outside the legal authority of the state board.