"...large expansion of wineries..." feared by Napa residents

[Shepherd]

The following appears in today's Napa Valley Register. I am including the link, in case you want to add a comment. I would echo what the letter writer says in his last sentence

We have now had 5 monthly meetings of the Four County Network, which focuses on the over-expansion of wineries on the North Coast, especially in our time of drought. We will be meeting again in Healdsburg in August to work against this regional over-reach.

https://napavalleyregister.com/news/...ntent=headline


Resident fears large expansion of wineries, vineyards

I wish to thank the Register for the timely article on Cary Gott that appeared in the July 17 edition ("In building wineries, St. Helena's Gott is key player," Page C1). For better or worse, Mr. Gott is a dynamic force in the Napa Valley. I was impressed by his frank discussion of winery/vineyard trends and developments. I would like to focus on several quotes from the article that I found particularly provocative:

1. “Napa Valley currently has some 475 physical wineries. … He (Gott) anticipates as many as 20 percent more new wineries could be built over the next 20 years.” So, Napans can expect nearly 100 new wineries within two decades. Since the size of Napa County is 790 square miles with probably 10-15 percent of the land tied up by the Land Trust and Regional Parks and Open Space, this suggests that in 20 years there will be nearly one winery for each square mile of county land. If there is a problem siting these new projects, perhaps space can be found adjacent to school locations.

This does not even consider existing winery expansion, the purview of the Planning Commission and supervisors. Although the Planning Commission was unable to provide me with the annual amount of winery capacity expansion sanctioned by the commission over the last several years, it probably was not de minimis.

2. “… and more vineyards will be planted where there have not been vineyards before.” This quote gets to the essence of the issue facing the county, the expansion of vineyard acreage onto land previously considered open space. For cabernet, based on an annual estimate of 200,000 gallons of additional wine capacity from new and existing wineries and assuming hillside planting, 4,500 acres of grapes would be required over the next decade even assuming there was no retroactive requirement that existing vineyards move to 75 percent county-grown grapes. This trend makes even the Walt Ranch and the ridgeline vineyard off Silverado and Conn Dam Road look small.

3. In response to new winery projects, Mr. Gott says, “OK. Let’s go have some fun.” Everyone’s idea of fun differs, but I would say that there are a lot more people (particularly Napa residents) who feel enjoying the magnificent flora, fauna and vistas of Napa County are more “fun” than having to live with 100 new wineries.
If you are as concerned as I about the untrammeled expansion of the winery/vineyard complex in the valley, what can be done? APAC is tasked with resolving some of these concerns, but the name “Agricultural Preservation” and members’ backgrounds suggests another laissez-faire whitewash of the issues.

Unfortunately, the Land Trust, Open Space District, and various environmental organizations have been largely silent during this debate. I do not have the answers, but clearly a fair but strict enforcement of existing codes and use permits is needed. In addition, we should attempt to elect those officials including supervisors whose perspective extends beyond allowing wineries and vineyards free reign expansion.

Perhaps if enough of us voice our concerns an appropriate balance between viticulture and open space can be struck.

Don Niemann, St. Helena