Arnulfo Solorio has been named the 2022 Napa Valley Grower of the Year. Solorio (“Nufo”) is a partner and vice president of operations at Silverado Farming Company, where he has served in leadership roles since 2002.

Solorio served three three-year terms on the Napa Valley Grapegrowers board of directors, the first Hispanic person to serve in that capacity. His legacy may, however, be the creation of the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation in 2010.

​Solorio was passionate about starting the foundation as a way to provide professional development and educational opportunities to farmworkers and their families. The Farmworker Foundation now serves thousands of people each year through its programs in literacy, leadership, vocational training, mentorship and community participation. Solorio is a director on its board and is currently chairman of the Farmworker Education Committee.

It’s no surprise that the notion of preparedness and designing defensible spaces has made its way into the mainstream vernacular for all members of our community. Since 2017, 60% of the landcover in Napa County has been touched by fire. Across California, over 4.3 million acres of land burned in 2020 alone.
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Wildfires may have become the new normal in California, but as a community we can work together to be more resilient and better prepared. To this end, creating fire-ready vineyards and landscapes is essential.

In the aftermath of the 2020 Glass Fire, which burned large swaths of the Viader family’s Howell Mountain estate vineyard, as well as 30,000 surrounding trees, proprietor Delia Viader and her son, grape grower and winemaker, Alan Viader, are rebuilding their estate property through a new lens.

​They are preparing for the next fire threat by creating a defensible space that protects their vines and structures and, in circumstances as serious as the Glass Fire, gives firefighters a chance to fend off impending flames safely. And they want to help their wine country neighbors to do the same.