"Wilson Winery Drops Appeal" PD article
Another victory against Big Wine was reported in today’s PD. A link and the article on the Wilson Winery follow. We still have a lot to do to hold back the Wine Empire from further industrializing, urbanizing, commercializing, and touristificating our beloved rural Sonoma County. Your comments in response to this article could be helpful.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4...r-drops-appeal
https://img194.imageshack.us/img194/...1206081330.png
Wilson Winery owner drops appeal in county crackdown on events
BY ANGELA HART, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT, June 26, 2015
Sonoma County vintner Ken Wilson has agreed to halt a slate of wine events he planned to host this summer at his flagship Wilson Winery in Dry Creek Valley following a crackdown by county planning officials.
The decision comes in the wake of an investigation by county code enforcement officers who found that since at least May 6, Wilson Winery has been violating the county’s rules by holding unauthorized events and allowing visitors to park alongside the winery on Dry Creek Road.
The county investigation was prompted by neighborhood complaints about noise and traffic in the area.
Wilson initially said he didn’t agree with the county’s finding, asserting that his operating permit did not limit his ability to hold events.
He appealed the county code enforcement action earlier this month, but dropped his appeal Friday, according to John Mackie, his lawyer.
Under a settlement agreement reached late Thursday, Wilson has agreed to pause all special gatherings at Wilson Winery, such as weddings and wine pairing events. He is allowed to participate in industry-wide events such as the popular barrel tasting weekend. He also is allowed to hold wine release parties in Wilson Winery’s tasting room between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., with up to 25 people.
The matter was settled at a public hearing Friday morning, when an independent hearing officer signed off on the agreement.
Wilson, who is on vacation in Canada, did not appear at the public hearing, and no one in the audience spoke. The formal hearing was required to settle the code enforcement action.
By Friday morning, Wilson Winery’s events page on its website had been taken down.
Mackie said Wilson agreed to the terms, but he is awaiting a clear policy regarding winery events. The Board of Supervisors is expected to take up the issue in March.
“Things are unclear right now,” Mackie said. “So we’ll assess what we’re going to do after that.”
The settlement also requires Wilson to produce a full traffic study within 60 days, and to create a county-approved no-parking zone in the vicinity of the winery.
“These traffic issues are not new to this winery,” said Ben Neuman, the building and safety manager for the Permit and Resource Management Department. “It was very controversial when it was first approved in 1995.”
Wilson must also pay the total cost of Friday’s hearing, which amounted to about $1,700.
You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or[email protected]. On Twitter @ahartreports.
Re: "Wilson Winery Drops Appeal" PD article
I"m sorry to hear that these free concerts have been cancelled. There's not alot of difference between the Tuesday afternoon concerts in Healdsbury Plaza, the Friday night concerts in the Cloverdale Place, summer concerts in Ives Park, the free KRSH concerts, and the concerts at Wilson Winery. Except the Wilson Winery events were much smaller, and in a much more beautiful setting.
I can empathize with the neighbors of Wilson Winery, who get irritated at the music & parking on the highway. In this case, my view is the good that many average people enjoyed with the concerts has been sacrificed to the to property rights of a few neighbors, I wish you had gone to one of these concerts with me Shepherd. I can't help but think you would have shed one tear at the loss of these small and beautiful events.
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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:
Another victory against Big Wine was reported in today’s PD. A link and the article on the Wilson Winery follow. We still have a lot to do to hold back the Wine Empire from further industrializing, urbanizing, commercializing, and touristificating our beloved rural Sonoma County. Your comments in response to this article could be helpful.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4...r-drops-appeal
Wilson Winery owner drops appeal in county crackdown on events
...
Re: "Wilson Winery Drops Appeal" PD article
Dear Tommy,
I appreciate you, the good work you do, and your love of music and poetry. However, there is a bigger picture here. The Wilson's may allow the rest of us to have a few crumbs from the table they set, but that is not enough, in my opinion. The issue is not just their neighbors; I am not one of their neighbors. The issues here are the wine barons that rule this county and take most of the profits out of the county to their investors.
It was wise that while up in one of their homes in Canada the Wilsons backed off, for which I thank them. But the amount of water that they take to make their wine--about 30 gallons per wine glass--and the land that they take away from food farming is more than I am willing to tolerate. There are other venues for good music, such as the Ives Park music that starts this Wednesday. I do not agree with you that "there's not a lot of difference between" the other concerts.
This is not a private property issue but an issue of the use of the Commons, which includes water, land, and air. The costs of those concerts to nature are more than I am willing to support. I do appreciate you for raising this concern, about which we can agree to disagree.
Your friend Shepherd
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Posted in reply to the post by tommy:
I"m sorry to hear that these free concerts have been cancelled. ...
Re: "Wilson Winery Drops Appeal" PD article
Shepherd,
Whether a glass of wine is consumed at a Wilson Winery event, or a concert in Ives Park, makes little difference, regarding the use of resources for the glass of wine. This is why I say there's not much difference between a concert at Wilson or Ives.
However, your positions seems to be against "wine barons who take profits out of the county, to their investors". Is there any documented scientific findings that water use by the wine industry is excessively taxing our water resources? Or the amt of water consumed by wineries, versus the ag industry, growing cotton & almonds in the Central Valley. How has the drought changed things? This is "Wine Country"! It's created alot of panache about grapes as agriculture, attracting tourists to Sonoma County, and the resulting economy that benefits all. It's hard to stop this kind of stuff because of the nature of capitalism and human egos.
Do you think we should stop drinking wine?
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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:
Dear Tommy,
I appreciate you, the good work you do, and your love of music and poetry. However, ...
Re: "Wilson Winery Drops Appeal" PD article
Dear Tommy,
I do not consider this to be the commercial "Wine Country." I moved here 24 years ago to live in the natural Redwood Empire. Then Big Wine's well-paid lobbyists re-branded us Wine Country, which is why some of us are trying to rebrand this place the Wine Empire.
As to documentation, many rural people at our meetings report that their wells go dry when a vineyard goes in next door.
I agree with you that Big Ag is a problem, especially with almonds and all the water needed for the alfalfa to feed livestock. I support grape-growing, which is the ag component of Big Wine. What has evolved is industrial bottling operations, often located in areas zoned for ag and natural resources, like Dairyman Winery and Event Center on Highway 12. When is enough enough?
Some of us advocate actions that would take away the few crumbs that Big Wine does offer. Perhaps you favor the further touristification of our beloved Redwood Empire. I do not. The rural places for young people to learn to become food farmers, for vets and others with trauma, and for artists to live within nature and be inspired are lessening. That is part of what this fight is about.
We have many good grape growers and wine makers on the North Coast. Some of them come to our Four County Network meetings and support our work.
Shepherd
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Posted in reply to the post by tommy:
... Is there any documented scientific findings that water use by the wine industry is excessively taxing our water resources? ...
