August Wine Improvement District Update

Since it was announced last month that leaders in the Sonoma County wine community were exploring the possible benefits and risks of establishing a Wine Improvement District, we have heard comments and questions from many, even those who don’t farm grapes or make wine from the County. That is fine as we appreciate the interest in the idea and the passion for Sonoma County’s wine community.

Make no mistake, the greatest risk we face today is to do nothing and hope things improve. Our job is to explore any and all solutions to the challenges facing us – partnerships, grants, sponsorships, including a Wine Improvement District.  In fact, we continue to invite any proposals, ideas and funding models to consider to help us overcome these challenges. 

With this in mind, here are some facts about Wine Improvement Districts (WIDs) and the process in Sonoma County since February 2025:

Fact: There are currently four WIDs in California with at least three others in the process of being established or considered as options for stable marketing funding.

Fact: During February  – March of 2025, the Sonoma County Winegrowers did the following:

• Spoke to leaders in other wine regions who have implemented a WID.

• Participated in a regional association meeting hosted by California Association of Winegrape Growers and the California Wine Institute with a handful of trade associations in attendance, where Civitas and leaders from wine regions with WIDs presented general background on WIDs, the process to establish a WID, and the benefits, challenges and results.

• On March 31, the Sonoma County Winegrowers board of directors voted at its meeting to spend up to $100,000 to pursue the formation of a business improvement district under the Sonoma County Winegrowers management which is the very model that the Lodi Winegrape Commission is following. Know that every Sonoma County Winegrowers meeting has oversight by California Department of Food & Agriculture and the board is nominated and elected by the entire grape growing community who pay assessments.

• Hiring Civitas, which has worked with the other wine regions and is recognized as the national expert, was necessary to understand how a WID works – how it is formed, the boundaries, the types of businesses that can be included, as well as the types of items and activations that can be assessed. It would not be prudent to talk in a hypothetical way about how it works, we needed to understand the actual process.

Fact: Did you know that even if we all agreed today to move forward with a WID, it would take approximately 18 months before the full funding came in?  Can we all survive another 18 months with the status quo?  This is why we were moving quickly to determine if a WID is the best solution for Sonoma County. 

Fact: Civitas was contracted on April 4, 2025 with a monthly fee of $7,500. When SCW reviewed the contract, we ensured that it was month-to-month so we could cancel it at any time.  This allowed the process to begin with learning how a WID works, then establishing a steering committee, beginning outreach to the AVAs and then broad outreach to the wine community before a management plan would be finalized or petition process started based on feedback.

Fact: The first meetings with Sonoma County Vintners leadership to discuss a WID occurred on February 6^th. Sonoma County Winegrowers and other wine industry stakeholders continued meeting with leadership of Sonoma County Vintners in March and April to discuss the WID and invite them to participate in the steering committee.

Fact: May 14^th, 2025 was the steering committee kick-off to explore WIDs. The steering committee was comprised of 15 members representing different size wineries, AVAs, and leadership roles in the wine community.

• 5 small wineries

• 2 mid-size wineries

• 3 large wineries

• SCW/SCV leadership (3 members from each board)

• Current and Former AVA Board Leadership (AVW, WDCV, SVVGA, PGA, WSCV)

• Staff

Fact: Between May 13^th – July 2, members of the steering committee met with the following AVA boards and/or leadership to discuss the WID and obtain initial feedback before going broader with wine community engagement:

• Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley

• Alexander Valley Winegrowers

• Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance

• Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance

• Russian River Valley Winegrowers

• West Sonoma Coast Vintners

Fact: At the June 2 board meeting, as captured in the minutes, there was a discussion on the timing of the Sonoma County Winegrowers “referendum” (a 5-year reauthorization process where growers vote on whether to continue self-assessing their grapes to fund collective marketing efforts).  By law, the referendum vote needs to happen between July 1, 2025- June 30^th, 2026. The decision was made to “move as quickly as possible” with the reauthorization referendum after the start of the new FY on July 1, 2025. This reference to the referendum had nothing to do with the WID timing. There was separate discussion on the WID and its process and timing.

Fact: On July 21^st, Sonoma County Winegrowers distributed a press release announcing the exploration of a Wine Improvement District with the intent to begin outreach and start the town halls and listening sessions. The release mentioned support to explore a WID from the Sonoma County Vintners leadership who were participating in the steering committee (this had not gone to the full SCV board yet).

Fact: To date, Sonoma County Winegrowers, with the approval of its board, has spent $38,450 on Civitas, which is less than 2% of its marketing budget and less than 1% of its total budget.

Fact: Civitas does NOT take a 2% collection fee. There is a 2% collection fee taken by HdL if a WID is established. HdL is a separate and independent tax and assessment collection organization used by counties and cities across California (including Sonoma County) and for most wine and business improvement districts. There is a 2% processing fee for collecting the assessments. Since this is not a tax, it is not collected by Sonoma County.

Fact: Sonoma County Winegrowers estimates that 30% of the Sonoma County winegrapes will not be sold this year and that there are around 5,000 acres of vineyards being pulled out. In general, the wine industry is experiencing an oversupply of grapes and a consumption problem.  Every day it seems there is a new report or media story about declining consumption, rising production costs and the impacts from tariffs.  Doing more of the same will not work.

Fact: On August 19^th, Sonoma County Winegrowers paused the work of Civitas and the WID through harvest to give Sonoma County Vintners a chance to deal with their transition and provide time for wineries around the county to brainstorm new ideas and funding models.

Fact: As a leader of a countywide organization, it would have been irresponsible to not consider every possible funding model and opportunity to address the challenges facing the wine and grape growing community.

At this critical time, let’s work together and have a dialogue on how best to improve the outlook for Sonoma County’s wine community.  Know that the Sonoma County Winegrowers has a very successful track record of supporting the Sonoma County wine community and its growers.  We led the effort to become the first 100% certified sustainable wine region.  We developed the first 100-year plan for the industry.  We have pioneered Sonoma County’s Farm of the Future to provide access to local vineyards to seek solutions to improve production agriculture.  And we established a Winery Collaborative and sought high-profile sports, trade, on-premise, and media partnerships to introduce Sonoma County wines to more people in new settings and experiences. We have also demonstrated that we pursue grants, partnerships, sponsorships, and now the WID as ways to supplement the investment Sonoma County grape growers make in the Commission. Every action we take and proposal we consider is done through a simple filter – will it help the growers and wineries in Sonoma County.  That will never change.