Editorial Editorial (June 17, 2005)

Wineries help charities while eyeing market growth

The news just keeps getting better for Livermore Valley wineries, which are looking forward to another bountiful and possibly their best harvest ever. The annual auction which they sponsor through a fundraising foundation that is part of the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association has just raised a record-high $279,000 for local charities. That event, one of the area's top social extravaganzas, came on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows the 30 local Tri-Valley wineries to ship their products directly to customers across the country. That ruling, which takes effect in 45 days, is especially significant for the Livermore wine country where most wineries are small in size, volume and marketing outreach, and often bypassed by national distributors who put better known brands in liquor stores, restaurants and supermarkets both nationally, and often even locally.

By overruling state laws that in many cases date back to agreements made when prohibition was abolished 73 years ago, consumers who like the taste and quality of superior wines from this Valley can now order them online for direct shipment to their homes. As more retailers hear their customers sing the praises of Livermore Valley wines, they're likely to ask their local distributors to stock the wine, too, ending a monopoly that the larger producers now have.

In addition to the financial growth local vintners expect as a result of greater marketing opportunities ahead, the increased recognition of the quality wines being produced here is seen both in the growing numbers of local wineries, in their improved profitability and in the larger numbers of tourists coming to the Tri-Valley thanks to promotional efforts by the Livermore Winegrowers Association and the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau. Working in collaboration on aggressive marketing programs, the organizations are raising awareness in the heavily populated Bay area, alone, to tout the Livermor wine country distinct appellation of award winning, premium wines. A new billboard for eastbound motorists on I-580 and wine country maps being distributed to more than 500 locations promote not only the area's wine and wineries, but also our championship golf courses, upscale hotels and restaurants and easily accessible routes for a day of wine-tasting and dining in the Valley.

The local enthusiasm for this growing wine producing area was especially evident at the recent San Francisco Bay Wine Auction 2005, the Winegrowers Foundation's 11th annual auction to raise money for local charities, held at Wente Vineyards in Livermore. At $50 a ticket, the afternoon silent auction drew 700 people, with another 380 paying $250 to attend the dressy, colorful and live auction dinner that followed that evening. Tickets sold out weeks in advance for an event that the Winegrowers Association's executive director Lynn Wallace says is growing in size and results each year. With ticket receipts and bids, the nearly $300,000 raised puts the total contributed since the event started over the $2 million mark. This year's recipients included $72,000 in special bids that went to the Oakland East Bay Symphony, with the remainder of the funds split among ValleyCare Medical Center's pediatrics unit, the Taylor Family Foundation and the Hope Hospice children's bereavement program in the Tri-Valley. And it was fun, with bids being solicited in rapid-fire order by Auctioneer Dave Reynolds for the more than 100 generous donated packages. These included a heritage tour for four to Ireland from the Concannon family, which went for $13,000 and a "Second Chance Prom" for 20 couples donated by Pleasanton's Mitchell Katz Winery.

With this kind of local support, new national marketing opportunities and more specialized wineries than ever before, the Livermore wine country has become a prestigious and profitable industry for the Tri-Valley area that bodes well for all who live, work and have businesses here.

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