Opener
On, April 5, 2022 the Napa County Board of Supervisors adopted a new “Micro-winery Ordinance”, allowing Napa Valley winegrape growers to produce and sell wine at their family farms. The Ordinance will go into effect May 5, 2022. The Ordinance will amend the Napa County Code to allow farmers to obtain a use permit for […]
Earlier this month, the Napa County Board of Supervisors completed their review of the Agricultural Protection Advisory Committee’s (APAC) recommendations to improve agricultural protection, primarily by imposing new restrictions and limitations on wineries (See approved list of Board actions on APAC recommendations). One of the recommendations approved by the Board was to implement a phased, […]
By Tom Adams and Mark Phillips The Napa County Public Works Department is in the process of preparing amendments to the Subdivision and Zoning Ordinance as it relates to lot line adjustments and certificates of compliance. The changes originally proposed by staff were minor and did not warrant comments. However, during the “stakeholder” review of […]
Napa County’s agricultural water users rely on both groundwater and surface water flow to provide frost protection and irrigation. Similar to other areas of the state, it is anticipated that Napa vineyard owners will rely on groundwater resources to make up any shortfalls in surface water availability. Many vintners rely on the surface flows from […]
Each year Napa County sends out notices to 20 wineries that they have been selected to be subject to the annual winery audit for compliance with their individual use permits. The County sent out its most recent notice on January 17, 2014 asking for information about annual production, visitation and custom crush activities. The letter requests that […]
St. Helena’s City Council unanimously voted to approve an emergency ordinance repealing recently passed amendments to the Small Winery Ordinance. We wrote about this matter earlier in the week. Tuesday’s vote prevents the amendments from being put on the November ballot as a referendum item, and effectively reopens debate regarding the proposed amendments. A […]
St. Helena’s City Council will hold a hearing on Tuesday, February 11 to consider repealing amendments to the Small Winery Ordinance approved just a few weeks ago after a months-long process. From May – August 2013, the St. Helena Planning Commission held four hearings to consider amending provisions of the St. Helena Municipal Code that […]
To be a winegrape buyer you have to get a processors license from the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s market Enforcement Branch (the “MEB”). When a buyer doesn’t pay for the grapes though, the seller can resort to a lawsuit or the seller can file a complaint with the MEB under the Processors Law. […]
In February, we reported that regulations slated to be enforced against grape growers in the Russian River watershed during the frost protection season had been postponed pending court action on a legal dispute over their legitimacy. We’ve been monitoring that case and wanted to provide readers an update as to status. Currently, the case is […]
Grape growers in the Russian River watershed were granted at least temporary relief from controversial new frost protection regulations earlier this month. The regulations, originally due to be enforced starting March 15, were postponed by a Mendocino County judge pending the outcome of a trial on the merits set for March 23. A similar action was filed […]