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MARCH NEWS State Relents in Corkage Debate Y Programs to follow lead of Yakima wineries and restaurants akima, Wash.—Regulators in Wash- ington state have opened the door to restaurants' waivers of corkage fees for local wines bought the same day, a move local wineries believe will support sales during a difficult economic era. Restau- rants have sought to waive corkage in the past, with Yakima restaurants pioneering one successful initiative during the past three years. Jar Arcand of Santiago's, a Mexican res- taurant in Yakima, approached local winer- ies and tasting rooms in 2008, offering to waive corkage fees if visitors brought wines purchased that day to accompany a meal. The success of the arrangement led 14 downtown restaurants and seven wineries in September 2009 to create a corkage-free zone in Yakima for local wines purchased the same day. Katherine Goodson of 2,500-case winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keyword "corkage." Kana Winery in Yakima said the program was a way to make tourists feel welcome. "(Guests) loved coming into town and knowing that the town recognizes them," she told Wines & Vines, noting that the initiative was more about coop- eration among busi- nesses than boosting sales. "Those guests that we told they could go to certain restaurants and have their cork- age fee waived, we don't know if they actually went," Goodson said. "We didn't offer this until after we sold our Yakima restaurant santiago's was the first to promote free corkage for diners who bought from area wineries the same day. Ad Size:7.625 in wines, because we were trying to be careful not to use that as a sales pitch, because our wines had better be the sales pitch." —Peter Mitham The kind of bank with the solutions to help you have a vintage year. As one of the nation's largest commercial lenders to agribusiness, we understand the cycles and needs of the vineyard business as few others do. We offer a full line of products, including equipment financing, production credit, and development loans. All with specialized teams that give you the kind of service that's put our customers first since 1874. So put our expertise to work for you. Call (888) 232-7241, or visit bankofthewest.com. ©2009 Bank of the West. Member FDIC. Loans subject to credit approval. Wines & Vines MARCH 2011 17 04.15.09 150 L/S Ad Size:4.875 in