Editorial Editorial (September 03, 2004)

Booming wine industry benefits all

Corks will be flying this weekend as thousands converge on the Livermore wine country for what promises to be one of the most bountiful harvests ever. This is good news for Pleasanton restaurants, hotels and shops as the crowds in the two-day celebrations on Sunday and Monday make their way along Valley roads and onto Vineyard Avenue for a stop at the city's historic rebuilt Ruby Hill Winery now operated by Mitchell Katz. The Ruby Hill facility, coupled with its new Palm Event Center, mirrors the history of the Valley's wine industry and premier vineyard land with an appellation that only recently has promoted Livermore Valley wines. As part of the heavily populated Bay Area, we are seeing the Valley rivaling the famed Napa Valley amenities with an ever wider-variety of premium wines, championship golf courses and a far better selection of upscale hotels and restaurants.

In his remarks at last month's ninth annual membership luncheon of the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, long-time wine industry analyst Steve Burns noted that the Tri-Valley is poised to take a commanding lead in wine country tourism. Ours is a wine country with 26 wineries that is expected to grow by 35 percent in the coming year, with new wineries and tasting rooms opening regularly. Mitchell Katz is already a favorite stop for weekend tasters in a facility closely matching its original operation built and opened in 1887. Harvesting grapes from some of the best wine producing soil in the world, including new plantings surrounding the Ruby Hill community and along Vineyard Avenue, Katz and his team of winemakers are leading a renaissance in the region's wine industry both within Pleasanton and throughout the Livermore Valley with some of the best wines America has to offer.

Burns, who recently left the post he held for the last eight years as director of the Washington State Wine Commission, urged the Tri-Valley cities and business leaders to recognize the value the wine industry brings to this region. With 293 wineries in Napa Valley, alone, and competition from Sonoma, Monterey and Mendocino counties, Oregon's Willamette Valley and Washington, now the country's second largest wine producing state, the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association and the Tri-Valley CVB need to aggressively promote the advantages of this Tri-Valley asset. That means more promotions among wine aficionados throughout Northern California and a greater recognition of the benefits of wine tourism.

Burns' studies showed that Washington tourists to the state's wine regions stayed longer, spent more money and returned frequently. This is why Washington state businesses from beauty shops to supermarkets to city governments add the Washington wine industry logo to the bottom of their stationery and carry-out bags, with civic groups selling colorful T-shirts with the message: "Will work for Washington Wine." We can do the same.

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