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20 W i n e s & V i n e s J U n e 2 0 1 4 Sustainability Push Conjures Optimism S an Rafael, Calif.—The Sonoma County Winegrowers group is com- mitting a significant share of its resources to reach its goal of cer- tifying all of the county's vineyards as sustainable. On April 28 the group announced it had hired Robert LaVine as its new sustainability manager. Part of LaVine's new role will be helping growers in the county to achieve third-party sustainable vineyard certification. At the start of the year the Wine- growers announced the goal of reaching 100% sustainable certifica- tion by 2019. Winegrowers president Karissa Kruse said she expects, in addition to LaVine's salary, sustain- ability will account for about 20% of the group's total budget, which in 2013 was around $1.2 million. Kruse said LaVine would be focus- ing on two primary goals during his first 90 days with the group: estab- lishing a baseline of the current level of sustainable certification in the county and reviewing various sus- tainability certification programs to find elements that could serve the goal of sustainability in Sonoma County. Before joining the Winegrowers, LaVine was the director of sourcing at Fetzer Vineyards. Previously he was director of winegrower relations in the Central Coast for Robert Mondavi Winery. During that time, LaVine sat on the development committee for the Sustainable in Prac- tice (SIP) program. "We need someone to take this project and get us to the finish line," John Balletto, owner of Balletto Vineyards & Winery, said of LaVine's hiring. Balletto is a member of the Wine- growers' board who had his own vine- yards certified about five years ago through the Lodi Rules program. He said the first year of certification en- tailed a good amount of work, but maintaining certification is much easier. With five years to go before the group's goal of achieving 100% cer- tification, Balletto said he's confident the group will be successful. "I think right now if you took a poll you'd have 75% of the growers behind it, and another 20% could be con- vinced. There's a small part that's going to take a lot of work to con- vince," he said. Kruse said certification can cost around $1,500 to $2,000, and she knows that's a good chunk of cash for a smaller vineyard company. To help defray some of the costs associated with certification, the Winegrowers are working to set up a grant program. —Andrew Adams Update to Consumer Wine Shipping Laws N apa, Calif.—Though sponsor ShipCom- pliant's goal is to insulate wineries from the Byzantine laws that govern direct ship- ping to consumers in various states, some of the most inter- esting sessions at the Direct 2014 conference May 8-9 were sessions covering up- dated laws and conditions. Steve Gross, vice president of state relations for the Wine Institute, which lobbies for California wineries, pro- vided an update about legis- lative and agency actions across the United States. He noted that consumers in 41 states representing 90% of the U.S. population now can receive wine directly from wineries, and Gross predicts that number may rise to 95% this year, should Pennsylvania and Massachusetts open up. Pennsylvania, a control state, could adopt DtC shipping either as a part of proposed privatization and modernization, or as a free- standing bill. For now, only Pennsylvania farm wineries can ship, and a few out-of-state wineries have registered as farm wineries. California's Wine Institute is working to get the tax rate below Pennsylvania's existing proposed 18% Johnstown flood tax, which is designed to pay for the 1936 flood, plus 6% sales tax. Gross estimates it could be 12% to 18%. In Massachusetts, carriers won't deliver wine due to licensing requirements. Lobbying continues in Massachusetts, where former New England Patriots quarter- back Drew Bledsoe, who owns a winery in Oregon, has been an effective (and registered) lobbyist. For the first time, DtC shipping legislation has been included in a budget bill, which makes it more likely to pass. Gross thinks winer- ies could have results soon. In New Jersey, efforts to pass legislation to remove the 250,000- case capacity cap and fix the tax nexus issue for wineries were de- ferred to 2014 because of the elec- tions in 2013, but this year has seen political turmoil once again. Bills have been introduced in most of the remaining states, but only Delaware seems likely to adopt one. In Oklahoma, for example, alcohol laws are embedded in the state constitution, which makes changes very challenging. Carriers won't deliver in Kentucky. —Paul Franson WINE INSTITUTE Direct-to-Consumer Shipping Map current as of May 8, 2014. M A Y N E W S J U N E N E W S The Sonoma County Winegrowers enlisted Robert LaVine (above) to help achieve their goal, set in January, of having 100% sustainable certification for vineyards within the county by 2019. DTC allowed DTC prohibited