This story begins for me in late 2015, when renowned vintner and environmentalist Volker Eisele said to me, “Mike, nearly 50 years ago we protected the valley from development when we established the Ag Preserve, now we need to protect our Ag Watershed.”
What do we want to protect?
Our favorite castle proprietor, Daryl Sattui, tells us that if a proposed land use initiative were to pass "it will spell the end of new vineyards in the hillsides and begin the demise of the Napa Valley wine industry. Existing wineries will find it difficult or impossible to expand production as the valley floor is mostly planted. New wineries won't find grapes" ("Adamantly opposed to watershed initiative," Sept. 19).
Facts about the Napa County Watershed and Oak Woodland Protection Initiative of 2018
The NVV fully supports the preservation of this unique and special place. In fact, it is a core principle of our mission: “…to protect and enhance the Napa Valley for future generations.” With this in mind, in February we invited leaders from the NVV, the Napa Valley Grapegrowers and the Winegrowers of Napa County to discuss our options, knowing the initiative would return this year.
Reborn watershed initiative has Napa Valley Vintner backing
It never crossed their minds that people would be against protecting water quality and oak woodlands and building on the county’s tradition of leadership qualities, Stults said. Napa Valley Vintners would like the other wine industry groups to back the proposed measure, he said.
“We would love to have them on board,” Stults said. “We would love to have them co-signing the ballot argument. There’s room for everybody.”
Who is "We" on Watershed Initiative?
Watershed protection seems to be lower down the list of priorities, after protecting property rights, elevating direct marketing to an accessory use of agriculture and allowing fragile hillside Ag Watershed lands to be clearcut for "great cabs." We need champions for the environment, so critical in our changing climate, and this initiative was an agent of those champions.