Napa's Cold New Reality
The long-protected Napa wine industry faces a chilly new political atmosphere.
W. Blake Gray • Wine Searcher
“...Tipping the scales
Le Colline is the best example of how a change in a 5-person board makes a huge difference. Owner Dave DiCesaris proposed the vineyard nearly a decade ago on the site of an abandoned apple orchard and submitted his first erosion control plan in 2014. He spent $2.1 million in fees, including a lengthy Environmental Impact Report that the county required. The Planning Commission approved the project earlier this year.
But environmental groups objected, claiming that the vineyard would increase sediment runoff into Conn Creek, which drains into Lake Hennessy, the city of Napa's main source of drinking water. The Board of Supervisors' vote on the project in August was the first real test of its new makeup. They voted 3-2 against the vineyard, with both Cottrell and Gallagher opposing it.
"What happened to us had never happened in the history of Napa County, where staff approved a project and it went to the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Supervisors overturned that," DiCesaris told Wine-Searcher. "This was the first time ever. Lucky us. There is no question that the tenor of the board of supervisors has changed. Joelle (Gallagher) campaigned on, 'If somebody wants to put a vineyard in the hillsides, they should look somewhere else.' I heard one or two supervisors say, not every property is suitable for its allowable use. We want them to allow something there. But it doesn't sound like it."
The Le Colline site is zoned for agriculture. In fact, the entire county outside the cities is zoned for agriculture as part of the landmark Agricultural Preserve law passed in 1968. The idea was to prevent construction of anything other than wineries and vineyards. Napa had already established itself as having the best terroir in California. It was a way to protect a still-small wine industry from being crowded out by homes, factories and warehouses.
After 40 years, though, the situation had changed. Wine was no longer a startup business for industrious entrepreneurs, like Smith at Smith Madrone, or Warren Winiarski at Stag's Leap, or John Shafer. Robert Mondavi, who elevated Napa to world-class wine status, had sold his winery to publicly traded Constellation Brands. The new people moving in were bankers and tech multimillionaires and others drawn by the lifestyle, with little of their own sweat equity involved.”