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  • About Us
    • Mission & History
    • Board of Directors
    • Our Team
    • Grower of the Year >
      • About the Grower of the Year Award
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
    • Sponsorship
    • In the News
    • Contact Us
  • Viticulture
    • Growing Season
    • Pests & Diseases >
      • Red Blotch
    • Soil Health >
      • Cover Crops
      • Compost
      • Organic Soil Health
    • Vineyard Development
    • Water & Irrigation >
      • Watershed Protection
      • Groundwater Sustainability Plan
  • Environment
    • Air Quality >
      • Agricultural Burning
    • Ag Preserve >
      • Conservation Landscape
    • Climate Resilience >
      • Climate Video Series
      • Modern vs. Fossil CO2
      • Reduce Climate Impact
    • Wildfires
  • Resources
    • Best Practices
    • Directory
    • Grower Resources >
      • Crop Insurance
      • Financial Model
      • Tools for Grape Sales
      • Weather Alert
    • Industry Blog
    • Napa Winegrape Market
    • Podcast
    • Reports & Research >
      • Grape Crush Report
      • Napa County Crop Report
      • Growing Conditions Report
      • Soil Health Report
  • Networking
    • Calendar
    • Paso Adelante
    • Harvest STOMP®
    • ROOTSTOCK
  • Members
    • Member Portal
    • How to Join >
      • Growers
      • Vineyard Management Companies
      • Associates
  • Community
    • Friends of the Grapegrowers
    • Afternoon in the Vineyards
    • Farmers Market
    • Community Blog
    • FAQs
  • Donate
    • Your Impact
    • Ways to Give
    • Sip and Support Program

Industry Updates Blog

Podcast Episode 31: Come Over October with Karen MacNeil & Glass with a Grower: Jan Krupp

10/10/2026

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October is here, and this month on Grown in Napa Valley, host Caleb Mosley welcomes Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible and co-founder of Come Over October. The campaign is built on one simple invitation: open a bottle and invite someone over. Karen shares how the idea came to her on an early-morning dog walk in 2024. Wine consumption was slipping, and she found herself asking why the industry wasn't telling its own best story. With co-founders Gino Colangelo and Kimberly Charles, and no budget or infrastructure, she launched what she describes as the largest grassroots pro-wine campaign in the U.S. It has since been taken up by wineries, retailers and grower groups from Texas (where it became "Come Over October, y'all") to Canada and New Zealand.

Karen and Caleb discuss why the campaign focuses on wine and social well-being rather than health debates. Karen describes wine as the ultimate farm-to-table beverage and an antidote to loneliness, and explains why she would rather unite wine drinkers than divide them by generation. She also explains the ancient Greek reasoning behind the 750-milliliter bottle. 
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In the spirit of Come Over October, Jan Krupp comes over for Glass with a Grower with a 2008 Krupp Brothers Cabernet Sauvignon from the M5 block, one of his favorite blocks at the heart of Stagecoach Vineyard. Jan was a practicing physician before he became a grower. He recalls spotting a listing on a telephone pole in 1995 and taking on a mountain property with no water, no road easements and plenty of rocks. He shares how tastings with his winemaker clients guided plantings across roughly 500 acres, and why the team behind Stagecoach (especially his brother Bart and vineyard manager Esteban) made it all possible. He also talks about his new memoir, Forging Eden, due out in late October. Jan closes with a candid view of today's downturn, the toughest he has seen, and his confidence that Napa Valley's terroir will carry the region through.
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Episode Highlights: 

  • "It's based on this very simple but powerful idea, which is that for 8,000 years, wine has brought people together." - Karen MacNeil
  • "Wine is an enormous antidote to the leading social problem in the US, Canada, and New Zealand today, and much of Europe, which is loneliness." - Karen MacNeil
  • "This down cycle seems worse, Caleb, than before. I've never seen so many unpicked vineyards in Napa. ... I think there's a tremendous value in Napa Valley terroir, and the types of grapes, so I do think we'll recover." - Jan Krupp
  • "Many decades ago, Jess Jackson told me that Napa is one of the five best places in the whole world to grow Cabernet Sauvignon. And I think he was right." - Jan Krupp
  • "You couldn't go three steps in this valley without someone putting a wine glass in your hand and filling it with something absolutely delicious." - Caleb Mosley
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AB 1890 Is Law: Doubling State Support for Napa's Farmworker Housing Centers

10/1/2026

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Image from napacounty.gov
Governor Newsom signed AB 1890 (Aguiar-Curry) into law on September 30, 2026. The bill doubles the State's annual matching funds for the Napa County Farmworker Centers Account, from $250,000 to $500,000 per year.
This is great news for the people who tend Napa Valley's vineyards, and for the whole community that has worked for more than two decades to make sure they have a safe, affordable place to live during the season.

Why This Matters

Housing in Napa County is scarce and expensive. When workers can't find housing, they often have to commute long distances, live in overcrowded conditions, or leave the region altogether.
Napa's three farmworker housing centers help with that. They offer stable, low-cost seasonal housing, and they also provide:
  • Daily meals
  • Healthcare access
  • Vocational and safety training
  • English language programs
  • Other support services that help farmworkers thrive
AB 1890 builds on AB 317 (Aguiar-Curry, 2017), which created the Farmworker Centers Account and authorized state matching funds. With operating costs rising, the added funding helps keep these centers open and running well for years to come.

A Grower-Led Legacy

​Supporting farmworkers has been part of NVG's work from the beginning. Our founders, including Andy Beckstoffer and Ren Harris, pushed for fair treatment of growers and for better conditions for the people who work the land. Ren Harris also founded the California Winegrower Foundation, now Ag Health Benefits Alliance, which today provides healthcare for more than 1,500 agricultural employees.

In 2002, Napa County's commercial winegrape growers created County Service Area (CSA) 4 and voted to assess themselves per acre to fund the farmworker housing centers. CSA 4 has generated more than $10 million for the centers since then. In the most recent vote, in 2022, growers representing 87% of planted acres voted to continue the assessment.

NVG's Advocacy for AB 1890

This spring, NVG Executive Director Caleb Mosley sent a letter to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development urging an "AYE" vote on AB 1890. In it, he wrote:
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​"Our valley would not serve as a global leader in wine grape cultivation without a highly skilled and dedicated workforce. It is our duty to provide safe, clean and comfortable housing for farmworkers that expertly tend our vines and strengthen our community."

NVG joined a wide coalition of supporters. Agricultural groups, nonprofit service providers, healthcare organizations, philanthropic funders, and Napa County all spoke up for the bill together. According to the County, several legislators pointed to Napa's public-private model as one worth replicating in agricultural communities across California.

​A Community Effort

No single group sustains these centers. Growers fund them and provide the jobs. Nonprofits deliver services on the ground. Philanthropic partners give grants and donations. The County runs and coordinates the centers. Now the State has doubled its share.
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That partnership was also recognized nationally this year, when the National Association of Counties gave Napa County's farmworker housing partnership a 2026 NACo Achievement Award for Community & Economic Development.

"I shared this news with our Vineyard Policy Committee, and it was the best part of my day," said Caleb Mosley. "I'm glad to see the industry, the community, and the County all rally around this to get it passed."
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Thank you to Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry for authoring AB 1890, to Napa County for its leadership, and to every partner and grower who helped make this happen. 
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Grower Voices - A Featured Guest Post by Ted Hall

9/30/2026

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Grower Voices shares perspectives from growers across Napa Valley. Some of the best insight on farming here comes from the people doing the work. This month, Ted Hall, who has walked Napa vineyard rows for about 35 years, looks at red blotch virus: how it spreads, what it costs, and why it may be the valley's most serious vineyard health threat since phylloxera. We're grateful he let us share it here. This article originally appeared on Ted's Substack on September 27, 2026. You can find more of his writing at Tell the Truth and Do the Right Thing. 


The Virus We Planted
Napa Valley's Next Phylloxera Crisis?

Ted Hall, Sep 27, 2026

I have walked vineyard rows in October for the better part of thirty-five years, reading the turn of the leaves the way every grower does: for color, for stress, for trouble. I could not tell you with certainty whether grapevine red blotch virus, a viral infection that quietly keeps an otherwise healthy-looking vine from ripening its fruit, is in a vineyard right now. That is not a comfortable thing for a grower to admit.

And not every red leaf means red blotch. Leafroll, nutrient deficiencies, trunk or root damage, and other stresses can produce similar symptoms.
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Red blotch can sit in a vine for two or three seasons before a single leaf shows reddish to reddish-purple blotches and the telltale redness in its veins, which means the honest answer for most growers in this valley is less a confident no than an unconfirmed not yet. Nobody would know without testing for it, and until recently, almost nobody did.

First recognized in Napa Valley in 2008, red blotch has since been confirmed in vineyards across the United States and internationally. Brix measures the sugar building up in a grape as it ripens, and the virus can cut that number by five or six degrees, while suppressing the anthocyanins that give red wine its color and altering the tannins and other phenolics that affect its structure. The mechanism is reasonably well understood: the virus disrupts the hormonal signals that trigger ripening, so the vine never receives the full instruction to finish the job it started in the spring.

A National Academies review commissioned by the California Department of Food and Agriculture in 2025 described grapevine red blotch and its sister disease, leafroll, as threats to a wine and wine grape sector that contributes $73 billion a year to the state’s economy, made harder to manage by how long it takes winemaking itself to reveal the damage.

Agricultural economists have modeled the lifetime cost of a heavily infected vineyard running into the tens of thousands of dollars an acre. That number is large enough to ask, carefully, whether this is the most consequential vineyard health threat Napa Valley has faced since the phylloxera crisis of the 1980s and 1990s forced growers across Napa and Sonoma to replant most of their vineyards at enormous cost.

Marc Fuchs, the Cornell plant pathologist who has spent over a decade tracking a single Cabernet Franc vineyard in Rutherford, watched its infection rate climb from 3.9% in 2014 to 36.4% in 2023. That vineyard sits in Rutherford, widely described as the center of Napa’s outbreak; nobody has done the valley-wide survey that would show how far the pattern actually extends beyond it.

He originally suspected red blotch was moving in from a nearby riparian corridor, the strip of wild vegetation that lines a creek or stream, which would mean many separate introductions, each carrying its own distinct genetic signature. The genetic evidence did not support that theory: the virus in his vineyard was too uniform for that many independent arrivals.

What he found instead were two distinct epidemics running in the same vineyard at the same time: a slow, randomly scattered spread of about 1% a year in one section, and a fast, radiating spread of about 6% a year in another, a difference he traces to how densely the vector, the insect that carries the virus from vine to vine, had already established itself in each part of the vineyard block.
READ FULL POST
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Measure B: What Napa Valley Growers Need to Know

9/28/2026

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An educational overview from Napa Valley Grapegrowers

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On November 3, 2026, Napa County voters will decide on Measure B, the Napa County Wildfire Preparedness, Watershed Protection and Open Space Preservation Act of 2026. Wildfire, watershed health, and land use all affect farming here, so we've summarized what the measure does. This post is meant to help growers make an informed decision.
The basics
  • What it is: A new half-cent (0.5%) sales tax that would apply across the county, including every city, the town, and unincorporated areas.
  • How long it lasts: 18 years, from April 1, 2027 through March 31, 2045.
  • Estimated revenue: Approximately $23 million a year. The measure itself states this figure is an estimate that will depend on actual sales.
  • How it got on the ballot: Measure B began as a citizen initiative, sponsored by the Land Trust of Napa County and Napa Firewise. On June 16, 2026, the Board of Supervisors confirmed the initiative received sufficient signatures to be placed on the November ballot.
  • What it takes to pass: A simple majority (50% plus one vote).

Where the money would go:
​Revenue would be split evenly between two groups:

50% to Napa County, for wildfire preparedness. The Board of Supervisors would distribute funds through competitive grants, mostly to qualifying Napa County nonprofits. Eligible uses include:
  • Clearing brush and other fuel along roads and at locations identified by local fire departments
  • Fuel breaks around communities where homes meet wildland
  • Programs that share the cost of defensible space and home hardening in high fire-risk zones
  • Forest health work and removal of invasive species
  • Assisting with prescribed burns
  • Support for Fire Safe Councils
  • Protection of critical infrastructure
  • Emergency signs and maps for first responders
50% to the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District, for watershed protection and open space. This share would also go out as grants to qualifying nonprofits and public agencies. Eligible uses include:
  • Restoring streamside habitat
  • Erosion control
  • Building and maintaining trails
  • Buying land outright, or buying conservation easements (a legal agreement that limits future development of a property while the owner keeps it)
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Provisions growers may want to review closely:
  • Land purchases require a willing seller. Any land or easement bought with Measure B money must come from a willing seller, at a price based on a fair market appraisal.
  • Agricultural land is named. One stated goal of the land preservation funds is to "support the continuation of agriculture by protecting key agricultural lands." The measure doesn't set specific rules for buying working farmland or vineyards, beyond the willing seller and appraisal requirements.
  • Cost share for landowners. The wildfire funds can support cost-share programs for "qualifying landowners." The measure doesn't spell out who qualifies, so details would likely be set when the grant programs are created.
  • Domestic and drinking water sources are named as priorities. The measure lists several watersheds as examples: Lake Hennessey, Milliken Reservoir, Kimball Reservoir, Bell Canyon Reservoir, Friesen Lakes and Rector Reservoir.
  • Environmental review. Passing the measure isn't subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA, the state law requiring environmental review of projects), but individual projects it funds would require CEQA review if applicable.
  • Business purchases. Like other local sales taxes, Measure B would apply to many business purchases, not only consumer ones. California gives some farm purchases, such as certain farm equipment and fuel, a partial exemption from sales tax. This exemption generally covers only the state's share of the tax, not local add-on taxes like this one. If you are uncertain how this measure would affect your farming operation, please check with your tax advisor or the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA).
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Oversight and accountability:
  • Oversight committee. A nine-member citizens' committee would review how the money comes in and is spent. The Board of Supervisors would appoint three residents, three fire department representatives, and three Park and Open Space District representatives. Three county officials would also attend as non-voting members. The committee could review spending but wouldn't set priorities or direct county staff.
  • Grant agreements. Every grant would need a written agreement covering the scope of work, performance measures, audit rights, and the ability to take funds back if the terms aren't met.
  • Annual reporting. Each grant recipient would report every year, and the Auditor-Controller would include the results in the county's annual audits.
  • Changes need voter approval. The tax rate, end date, 50/50 split, and core purposes can only be changed by a vote of the people. The Board could make technical changes, but only with a four-fifths vote.

Context and differing views:
  • Earlier measures. Countywide sales tax measures for open space failed in 2016 and 2020, and a wildfire prevention sales tax failed in 2022. Those were placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors and needed a two-thirds vote. Because Measure B is a citizen initiative, it needs only a simple majority.
  • Supporters include the Land Trust of Napa County, Napa Firewise and the Napa Valley Vintners. Supporters explain that state and federal grants come and go, and a dedicated local source would provide steady funding, making the county more competitive for outside grants. The campaign estimates that visitors would pay about 40% of the revenue. That figure comes from the campaign, not from an official county analysis.
  • Opponents include the Napa County Taxpayers Association. Its representative stated that this is "not the time to ask for another tax hike" given current economic pressures.
  • Effect on rates. According to local reporting, the sales tax in the City of Napa would rise to approximately 9.25% if the measure passes. Rates differ across the county, so please check the rate where you live and do business.
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Questions to consider as you decide:
  • How would the planned wildfire and watershed work affect the land around your vineyards and your water sources?
  • Would your operation be likely to qualify for, or apply for, cost-share or grant programs?
  • How much does your operation buy locally that would be subject to the tax?
  • How do you weigh the proposed oversight and reporting against the goals the measure is trying to reach?

Read the official materials:
We encourage every grower to read the primary documents, including the arguments for and against and the rebuttals. Napa County Elections has them all on its Measure B page, and you can reach the office at 707-253-4321.

Napa Valley Grapegrowers does not endorse or oppose Measure B. This post is for educational purposes only and is not legal or tax advice
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Bringing the Vineyard to the Community: Why NVG Shows Up Where People Are

9/23/2026

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Napa Valley's vineyards are part of the landscape everyone here shares. You see them on the drive to work, from a trailhead, or out the window at dinner. But for many neighbors, what happens inside those rows stays a bit of a mystery: how growers decide when fruit is ready, what a harvest morning looks like, and why farming well matters for the whole region.
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At Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG), we believe that support for agriculture grows from understanding, and understanding grows from real conversations. So we don't wait for the community to come to us. We go to them.

Trust Is Built in Person
Good relationships between farmers and neighbors aren't built through brochures. They come from showing up again and again, answering honest questions, and being open about how the work gets done. When people can taste a grape picked that morning or hear a grower explain why skin texture matters, agriculture stops being abstract. It becomes something personal.

That's the idea behind our public programs: meet people where they are, share what we know, and invite them into the story of Napa Valley farming.
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Two Chances to Join Us This Week

NVC Estate Winery Friday Tasting Series: Cabernet Sauvignon Grape Tasting
Friday, September 25 | 5:30 to 6:30 PM
Napa Valley College Wine Education Center (Wine Spectator Building 3200)

This hands-on evening follows Cabernet Sauvignon from the vineyard to the glass.
  • Read the grape like a grower. NVG Executive Director Caleb Mosley leads a grape tasting and shows how skin texture, acidity, and color can reveal where fruit is in its ripening, and how growers use those cues in the field.
  • Explore the science. Will Thomas of Integrated Phenolics covers emerging research on phenolics and tannins (the compounds that shape a wine's color, texture, and structure), plus an early look at how 2026 vintage phenolics are shaping up this harvest.
  • Taste the difference. The evening closes with a side-by-side tasting of two wines that take different approaches to ripeness, showing how one variety can express itself in very different styles.
Register here

NVG at the Napa Farmers Market
Saturday, September 26 | 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Napa Farmers Market, 1100 West Street, Napa
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Stop by our booth for a relaxed, family-friendly morning celebrating harvest. We'll have samples of freshly picked grapes from local vineyards, and our team will be on hand to answer your questions and share what harvest really looks like from the ground up. No experience needed, just curiosity.
Event details
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Why It Matters
Every conversation at a farmers market table or in a tasting room helps build a community that understands and values local agriculture. That understanding matters. It shapes how our region thinks about land use, water, and the future of farming here. It connects people to the growers who care for Napa Valley's land. It also helps make sure grape growing stays viable and resilient for generations to come.
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Our mission is to cultivate viticultural excellence and environmental stewardship for Napa Valley. We can't do that alone. It takes a community that feels connected to the land and the people who farm it.

Come Say Hello
Whether you've worked harvest for decades or have never tasted a wine grape straight off the vine, you're welcome. Join us Friday evening for a closer look at the science of ripeness, or stop by Saturday morning for a taste of harvest. We hope to see you there.
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We Want to Hear From You: NVG's 2026 Member & Industry Survey Is Open

9/17/2026

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Photo by Sarah Anne Risk
Napa Valley Grapegrowers exists to serve the people who grow and steward this valley's vines, and we can't do that well without knowing what's actually on your mind. That's why we're launching our Member & Industry Survey this September, and why we're opening it up beyond our membership to the whole Napa Valley wine industry.
take the survey

Why we're asking, and why now

​Growers, vineyard managers, winery teams, suppliers, and consultants are all navigating the same pressures right now: water and regulatory questions, labor, market conditions, wildfire risk, and the ongoing question of what the next generation of this industry looks like. We want to understand how those challenges are landing across the board, not just within our own membership, and we want that to shape how NVG prioritizes its work.

This survey will also help inform how we bring the Patrick Foley Center, our new home in Oakville, to life. What programming would actually bring you there? What formats are worth our time and yours? Your answers help us build something the whole industry will use, not just something we assume the industry wants.

Who should take it

This one's simple: everyone.
Whether you've been an NVG member for years, you're not sure if you're a member, or you've never joined at all, your perspective matters here.
  • Growers of any acreage, from a few vines to a few hundred acres
  • Vineyard management companies
  • Wineries with estate vineyards
  • Industry trade partners, suppliers, and consultants
  • Anyone who is hands on in the vineyards 
​If you're not an NVG member, we especially want to hear from you. Understanding whether and how NVG matters to people outside our membership is one of the most important things this survey can tell us.

​What's in it for you

We know everyone's time is limited during this stretch of the year, so we've built in two ways to say thank you.
  • Everyone who completes the survey will get early access to the full results before we publish them, a genuine look at how the industry is thinking about the issues you care about.
  • Three respondents will win an NVG-branded vest through a prize drawing.
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Spread the Word

​If you know someone in the industry who isn't an NVG member, forward this along. The more voices we hear from, the more useful this becomes for everyone who grows, works, and builds a life in Napa Valley agriculture.
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Podcast Episode 30: The Science of Tough Conversations with Monica Cooper & Malcolm Hobbs & Glass with a Grower: Scott Becker

9/10/2026

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In this episode of Grown in Napa Valley, host Caleb Mosley sits down with Dr. Monica Cooper and Dr. Malcolm Hobbs of the UC Cooperative Extension Napa County office for a wide-ranging conversation about how science gets translated into action in the vineyard. Monica, who has served as Napa's viticulture advisor since 2009, traces her research path from biocontrol and insect vectors of leafroll disease through to red blotch, which has become one of her primary focuses. Malcolm, who got his start counting ants in the vineyard part time, brings a social science lens to a field that doesn't always think in those terms. Together, they unpack a deceptively hard problem: how do you get neighboring growers to coordinate on a disease like red blotch, when that means having a sensitive conversation with someone you may have never met, or may have had a disagreement with in the past?

That question led Monica and Malcolm to study communication networks across the county and to explore the concept of neighborhood groups, voluntary, small-scale organizations where growers in close proximity can build the trust needed to actually work together on regional disease management. They talk through what makes those groups work, what gets in the way, and why spreading a new farming practice through a community looks a lot like any other kind of social change.
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For Glass with a Grower, Scott Becker of Realm Cellars arrives with two bottles that tell fifty years of Napa history in a single sitting: the newly released 2024 Moon Racer from the Stags Leap District, and a 1974 Cakebread Cellars Cabernet, the winery's first-ever Cabernet bottling, sourced from the same district and pulled from a Silicon Valley cellar where it had been stored impeccably for decades. The conversation moves fluidly between the wines, touching on mentorship, the pioneering names of Napa's early era, and Realm's philosophy of stewarding vineyard legacies — keeping the names, the histories, and the intention of the people who came before. 
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Episode Highlights: 

  • "How do you approach your neighbor to collaborate and coordinate practices? How do you have that conversation? That's very sensitive." - Dr. Monica Cooper
  • "If you're making wine in Napa Valley today, you're standing on the shoulders of somebody else." - Scott Becker
  • "How do I empower information to really move through our community? It doesn't have to come from me directly. In fact, if it doesn't come from me directly, that's more efficient overall." - Dr. Malcolm Hobbs
  • "That name is now bigger than them. It's bigger than me. And so our job is to sort of steward that." - Scott Becker 
  • "You wouldn't not manage for powdery mildew, because it's the norm of farming. What we need to do is get red blotch to that same place, normal farming." - Dr. Monica Cooper
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Together, We Raised $2.3 Million

8/26/2026

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​Harvest STOMP 2026 is officially in the books, and we're still soaking in the generosity this community showed throughout the evening.
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​A Night Worth Celebrating

​Thanks to your generosity, this year's Harvest STOMP raised $2.3 million in support of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers' leadership in education, advocacy, and environmental stewardship across the valley. Every bid placed, every ticket purchased, and every glass raised throughout the evening added up to something truly meaningful for the community that grows and cares for this land.

​Fueling a Cause Close to Home

​Of that total, more than $900,000 will go directly to the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation, the sole beneficiary of this year's Fund-a-Need. This support will help provide real, tangible resources for the farmworkers who are the backbone of Napa Valley's agricultural success, often working behind the scenes in the vineyards long before a single bottle ever reaches a table.

​Thank You, Napa Valley

​We are continually amazed by the generosity of this community, and this year was no exception.

From all of us at Napa Valley Grapegrowers: thank you. Thank you for attending, for bidding, for celebrating with us, and for standing behind the growers who care for this valley every single day. Your support directly fuels our work and helps ensure Napa Valley's agricultural future stays strong for generations to come.

Here's to another year of stewardship, community, and viticultural excellence. We'll see you next Harvest STOMP!

Relive the Night

Weren't able to catch every moment, or just want to relive the evening one more time? Take a look through some of the highlights!
Photos by Michael Cuffe:
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Board of Supervisors Reduces Groundwater (GSA) Fee Burden; Directs County Staff to Advance Zoning Ordinance Updates

8/13/2026

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T​he Napa County Board of Supervisors voted yesterday to reduce the proposed Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) fees by 55%. The Board's action delivers meaningful cost relief for Napa Valley agriculture.

Together with our industry partners (Napa County Farm Bureau, Napa Valley Grapegrowers and Winegrowers of Napa County), we requested relief for the agricultural community consistent with the joint industry policy proposal presented to the Board of Supervisors in April. We appreciate the Board of Supervisors’ positive response to this request.

Zoning Ordinance Modernization and Process Improvements
Yesterday, the Board of Supervisors also directed County staff to advance several recommendations from the Joint Wine Industry Request letter.
The County staff report prepared for the Supervisors' agenda highlighted a number of areas identified for improvement, including:
  • Marketing plan flexibility for wineries
  • Employee and visitation flexibility
  • Removal of the requirement to obtain an Administrative Winery Permit to install EV charging stations and bike racks
  • Expansion of existing winery commercial kitchens
  • Elimination of the "Tours and Tastings by Prior Appointment Only" signage requirement

​Additionally, as requested by the industry groups, the County will look into adjustments related to the implementation of AB 720 (the Estate Tasting Event Permit) and explore ways to potentially reduce frivolous project appeals. County staff will also work to simplify the Micro-Winery Ordinance and update the Use Permit Standard Conditions of approval.

These actions represent significant progress on priorities NVV and industry partners have been advancing with the County to reduce costs and create a more workable regulatory environment for Napa Valley wineries. Thank you to our industry partners and County leadership for this major step forward for our wine community.
Read the Article on SF Gate
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Podcast Episode 29: Uninvited Guests: The Costco Grapevine Incident with Tracy Cleveland & Glass with a Grower: Jason Haas

8/10/2026

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In this episode of Grown in Napa Valley, host Caleb Mosley sits down with Tracy Cleveland, Napa County's Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures, for a candid conversation about one of the more alarming pest events in recent memory. What began as a routine call from a neighboring county inspector turned into an urgent, coordinated response after glassy-winged sharpshooter was discovered on grapevine shipments sold through Costco stores across Northern California. Tracy walks Caleb through the timeline, which stretched across four separate shipments arriving from late April through late May, and describes what it looks like on the ground when inspectors mobilize to track down where infested plants may have landed. She also offers a practical reminder for growers: with harvest approaching, now is the time to contact the Agricultural Commissioner's office and schedule scale inspections before the season gets underway.
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The conversation goes deeper than the incident itself, touching on Tracy's 23 years with the county, her early days as a seasonal glassy-winged sharpshooter inspector, and the protocols her team uses when evaluating incoming plant material. She reflects on how the European grapevine moth eradication shaped the county's approach to pest response and emphasizes that keeping up this kind of vigilance requires community participation, from reporting suspicious plants to being thoughtful about moving material between regions.

For Glass with a Grower, Caleb welcomes Jason Haas, second generation proprietor of Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, fresh off his appearance at NVG's Organic Wine Growing Conference. Jason traces the story of Tablas Creek from its 1989 founding, a partnership between his father Robert Haas and the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel, through its evolution into the first winery in the world to earn Regenerative Organic Certification. He unpacks each of the certification's three pillars and shares why the social welfare component turned out to be the most transformative, leading to changes in how the vineyard team communicates, shares knowledge, and takes ownership of the work. Despite a challenging wine market, Jason closes on an optimistic note: the tools to build a resilient, forward-looking operation are there for growers and producers willing to look for them.
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Episode Highlights: 

  • "At the end of it, it was 40 counties impacted." - Tracy Cleveland 
  • "Costco let us know they had donated 15 vines to our local food bank. We were able to trace it back to the food bank that same day — and that was our first egg mass find." - Tracy Cleveland 
  • "I did not expect that. I thought we were going to go through [the social pillar] with flying colors — we've given our field crew year-round employment since 1996. But it required us to break down some of the more hierarchical systems." - Jason Haas 
  • "The pre-existing certifications — organic, biodynamic, even the sustainability certifications — don't really have this social aspect. I don't think they have as much meaning as this regenerative certification, because it is such a holistic look at your operation." - Jason Haas 
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