 Half a century ago, a group of forward-thinking, passionate Napa Valley farmers met around Ren Harris’ dining room table in Oakville to create the Napa Valley Grapegrowers. These pioneers recognized the unique potential inherent in this valley to grow winegrapes that could create wine worthy of competition with the finest offerings from across the globe. Over the past 50 years, NVG has evolved to address some of the most pressing issues facing the Napa grape-growing community, further establishing and protecting this amazing land for generations to come.
A few highlights of our work over the past 50 years:
We will host several events, including the relaunch of our annual membership meeting (complete with a special guest keynote speaker), to celebrate this feat together with a glass of Napa Valley wine in hand. Keep your eyes peeled for announcements on these upcoming events, and take a peek at our 50th-anniversary calendar. As we embark upon the next 50 years, the practice of grape growing in our precious valley will be faced with numerous challenges. The wine sales marketplace continues to evolve. Our climate continues to shift. Our knowledge of our environment and our impact upon it will continue to progress. The Napa Valley Grapegrowers stand at the ready to tackle challenges and to support our growers and the health of our environment. We, too, will continue to evolve. I invite everyone to take a moment this year to embrace the accomplishments of the past, to contemplate the current nature of our valley, and to envision a future that continues to provide for our entire community, just as it has for each and every one of us. I find myself overflowing with gratitude to play a part in leading this historic organization as we celebrate, and I can’t wait to raise a glass with you! Here’s to the next 50 years of growing together! Caleb Mosley Executive Director
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 This holiday season, the Napa Valley Grapegrowers is thrilled to announce several opportunities to celebrate, connect, and give back to our vibrant grape-growing community. As we gear up for the season of giving, we invite you to join us in supporting NVG’s mission to cultivate viticultural excellence and environmental stewardship for the Napa Valley. Here’s how you can make a difference: CanDo’s Napa Valley Give!Guide For the first time, NVG is proud to be included in Napa Valley Give!Guide. From November 15 to December 31, this annual initiative highlights local nonprofits, offering a simple way for the community to contribute to organizations that make Napa Valley a better place. Your donation through the Give!Guide directly supports NVG's critical work to preserve and promote sustainable grape growing in our region. Festival of Trees NVG is spreading holiday cheer by participating in Napa’s downtown Holiday Market with a uniquely decorated Christmas tree for the Festival of Trees. Festival attendees can vote for their favorite tree, and the winning design will be auctioned off on December 7-8. All proceeds from the auctioned NVG tree will benefit our organization. Stop by to admire the creativity and cast your vote! KTVU Giving Tuesday Segment Watch NVG on KTVU’s Giving Tuesday segment, where we had the exciting opportunity to be a nonprofit spotlight! How You Can HelpThis season of giving is the perfect time to support the vital work NVG does to sustain our agricultural heritage, enhance environmental stewardship, and strengthen our community. Whether through a donation to the Give!Guide, voting for our Festival of Trees entry, or sipping wine for a cause, every contribution makes a lasting impact.
Let’s come together to support Napa Valley’s vineyards this holiday season. Thank you for your generosity and commitment to our mission. Happy Holidays from all of us at Napa Valley Grapegrowers!  By: Melissa Webb, Vice President, Relation - Agro Crop Insurance Agency
It’s my duty and pleasure to keep the NVG members informed on important updates that could impact your bottom line. The federal crop insurance program is a key risk management tool we recommend you look into for your vineyard operation. These programs are designed to protect you from weather events and perils that could impact your yield through the growing season, at a subsidized cost to you. Upcoming Policy Deadlines Grapevine Insurance – November 1st Now available in 35 counties, this new program offers vineyard growers protection against vine loss due to fire, flood, freeze, failure of irrigation water supply due to drought, and hail. This is a separate coverage from the grape crop insurance policy and is specifically for vine mortality. The deadline to insure your vineyard for 2025 is November 1st, 2024 and coverage begins December 1st, 2024. Grape Insurance – January 31st This program provides coverage for yield losses caused by all naturally occurring perils (adverse weather, fire and smoke, failure of irrigation due to natural peril, etc.) The policy utilizes your individual growing records to establish the coverage. The deadline to insure your grapes is January 31st and coverage begins February 1st.
Whole Farm Revenue Protection – February 28th This highly subsidized federal policy offers you revenue protection for farm revenue declines including market price decline. Coverage is broken out by farming entity, not by specific crops, and covers you for losses in revenue due to naturally occurring events that impact your yield and/or market price for your commodities. This policy utilizes your individual tax records (Schedule F), yield data, and potential contract prices to establish the revenue to be insured. The deadline to insure your farming revenue is February 28th. Please reach out to Melissa Webb if you have any questions.  On October 4, 2024, the Napa Valley Grapegrowers are proud to participate in Leadership Napa Valley’s Ag Day, an annual event highlighting Napa Valley's agricultural sector. Leadership Napa Valley (LNV) is a premier leadership development program designed to inspire, connect, and cultivate diverse individuals committed to making a positive impact in the Napa Valley community. Ag Day is an integral part of this program, providing participants with an in-depth look at the region's agricultural heritage and current practices.
NVG will lead several key activities throughout the day. The event will kick off with a harvest ride-along led by Garrett Buckland of Premiere Viticulture, an NVG Board Director. This immersive experience will offer participants a unique, hands-on view of vineyard operations during harvest. Later in the day, Ted Hall of Long Meadow Ranch, a former NVG Board Director, will present on organic farming, emphasizing sustainable viticulture practices. Following this, Meghan Becker of In Vino Veritas, an NVG Board Director, will discuss the business of wine, covering the economics and market trends that shape Napa’s wine industry. NVG's involvement in Ag Day underscores our commitment to community education and encourages sustainable farming practices. Be sure to follow along on Instagram as we share highlights from Ag Day on October 4!  We’re thrilled to announce that the Napa Valley Grapegrowers has been awarded two major grants, totaling over $240,000! This funding will support some of our most impactful programs and initiatives over the next several years, further strengthening our commitment to Napa Valley’s grape growers and the future of sustainable viticulture.
Below is an overview of the two grants we’ve just secured: Western Extension Risk Management Education Grant $75,000 (April 2024 – September 2025)
USDA Risk Management Agency Grant $168,000 (September 2024 – February 2026)
These resources will help propel Napa Valley forward, allowing us to continue driving innovation, education, and sustainable farming practices in our region. Most importantly, this funding amplifies the investment our grape growers make in NVG and our shared mission. A big thank you to Morrison for their assistance in our grant applications!  California’s indoor heat worker protections were approved on July 23, 2024, by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). This new regulation goes into effect immediately to protect indoor workers from heat illness.
On June 20, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved California Code of Regulations, Title 8, section 3396 “Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment” and requested that the regulation take effect immediately after OAL approval. Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment regulation applies to most indoor workplaces, such as restaurants, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities. For indoor workplaces where the temperature reaches 82 degrees Fahrenheit, employers must take steps to protect workers from heat illness. Some of the requirements include providing water, rest, cool-down areas, and training. Additional requirements, where feasible, apply where the temperature reaches 87 degrees such as cooling down the work area, implementing work-rest schedules, and providing personal heat-protective equipment. Where workers wear clothing that restricts heat removal or work in high radiant heat areas, the additional requirements apply at 82 degrees. Cal/OSHA has developed educational materials and resources to help employers understand and comply with these requirements. New educational materials and resources include:
The Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG), founded in 1975 and representing over 600 grape growers, vineyard managers and associated businesses, announces a new slate of officers for 2024-2025. Founder of Silverado Farming Company Pete Richmond assumes the role of President, with Karen Cakebread, the force behind boutique Napa Valley label ZIATA, stepping in as Vice President. Meaghan Becker of In Vino Veritas continues to lead as the organization’s Treasurer and Kendall Hoxsey-Onysko of Yount Mill Vineyards and Napa Wine Co. serves as Secretary. The membership has elected Cathy Corison of Corison Winery, Mark Pulido of Pulido~Walker, and reelected Michael Silacci of Opus One Winery to the Board of Directors.
Rounding out the 2024 Board of Directors are Erin Bright Russell, Garrett Buckland, Tom Davies, Suzanne Groth, Caleb Mosley, Dan Petroski, Oscar Renteria, and Dave Whitmer. After many years of tremendous service on the Board, Ted Hall, Mary Maher, and Amy Whiteford are retiring from their Board positions. by Pam Strayer for Wine Business  The nation’s most prestigious wine grape grower organization, the Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVGG), gathered in early November for their two day annual conference, Rootstock. Breaking with the tradition of covering many topics at Rootstock, this year the group featured just one subject–weed control.
The topic has stirred controversy in recent years. A week later, Napa Green, the county’s prominent sustainability program, announced it would require its members to phase out conventional herbicides, including Roundup, by 2026, offering growers technical and financial assistance to support the change The program has 25 current members and 44 others who are in transition. Together they collectively farm 7,000 acres of vines. The growers’ educational gathering was held amidst growing consumer concerns that glyphosate based herbicides, featured in front page news (in recent court cases and ongoing studies), inhibit soil health and affect human health. In Napa, some consumers then began asking vintners if they used the herbicide, which put the topic on some wineries’ radar. “The Napa Valley Grapegrowers have never shied away from a difficult topic or an interesting topic for discussion within the industry,” said NVGG board member Dave Whitmer, the county’s former Ag Commissioner. As the NVGG said in describing its Nov. 6-7 event on its website, “as consumers' and lenders' perceptions around herbicides shift, there is mounting pressure across the wine production chain to adapt farming methods…. as Napa Valley growers continue to strive for viticultural excellence, employing innovative practices is paramount to continuing to increase quality and sustainability in our vineyards.” Press release by Caroline Feuchuk, Napa Valley Grapegrowers, and Teresa Wall, Napa Valley Vintners Harvest at the Renteria 360 Vineyard. Photo by Sarah Anne Risk 12/4/2023 - Saint Helena, CA - Coming off the heels of the longest Napa Valley growing season in a decade, vintners are glowing with expectancy of the truly noteworthy 2023 vintage. Some have proposed it to be one of the greats while others claim it might be the vintage of a lifetime.
“Every century, every place has its legendary vintages. I have no doubt that 2023 will go down as one of the most phenomenal vintages ever in Napa Valley. Every vintner I’ve talked to about 2023 has been nothing short of ecstatic,” said Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible and Napa Valley resident in a recent video about the 2023 harvest. Winemakers describe the wines as having freshness, purity and elegance overall with deep colored red wines and a full range of flavors from sites across the valley. Higher-than-average rainfall kicked off the 2023 growing season, and grape growers reported full soil profiles with plenty of moisture, which led to a successful bloom. Due to cooler spring weather, the growing season began 10-14 days behind the 2022 season. “The remainder of the growing season was a mild one. Cooler growing conditions meant extended hang time for grapes,” said Brittany Pederson, director of viticulture for Renteria Vineyard Management. “Knowing we’d likely harvest into November, it was our job to ripen the fruit and keep it protected long enough to hang through the extended time frame.” Relatively cool weather in tandem with an abundance of sunshine allowed grape skins to ripen slowly and develop maximal dark red color components for red wines. With 2023’s long growing season, full ripeness of grape skins and seeds provided the building blocks for the red wines’ tannic backbone. “Ripe, rich tannins are the wine’s source of resilience and provide the elements for a long-lived wine. The deep red color is a signal of a stand-out vintage, especially with Cabernet,” said Jim Duane, Winemaker at Seavey Vineyard. Aside from Sauvignon Blanc, which was harvested as early as Labor Day weekend, most varieties ripened in October. This simultaneous ripening meant grape growers and wineries coordinated picks based on tank space in the cellar, and communication among partnerships was key. As always, everyone remained nimble, taking the challenges in stride. “Every harvest we ‘add to our belts’, so to speak, as each one delivers a new experience and learning lesson. 2023 was no exception,” said Pederson. With consistent, mild weather throughout the season, above-average crop yields, and extended hang time, grape growers and winemakers are reporting an exceptional, high-quality, memorable vintage in 2023. A mild growing season has the Napa Valley agricultural community excited about the 2023 vintage:
LEARN MORE ABOUT NAPA VALLEY’S HARVEST
SOMM TV 2023 NAPA VALLEY VINTAGE REPORT Watch the 2023 Napa Valley Vintage Report with winemakers as they get together to recap the harvest season and talk about the 2023 vintage. Airs Tuesday, December 5, 2023 on SOMM TV. 2023 HARVEST PRESS CONFERENCE: A recap of the season Industry insiders joined together to discuss the 2023 growing season, timely topics related to Napa Valley agriculture and harvest. View the 2023 vintage recap on the Napa Valley Grapegrowers YouTube page. by Kerana Todorov for Wine Business
Napa Valley’s growing winegrape season was late, with the fruit remaining on the vine for an additional two to three weeks longer than in previous years. Growers gathered Wednesday for the online Napa Valley Grapegrowers’ 2023 harvest press conference also reported higher yields, fruit with little shatter and no late-season dehydration commonly see in warmer seasons. The integrity of the berries’ skin was “just so fantastic” through harvest, said Justin Leigon, partner at Piña Vineyard Management. Weight was retained, along with acidity, he said. “It was really a fantastic vintage,” said Leigon, whose company farms about 1,000 vineyard acres, mostly in the Napa Valley. Overall, yields were 15 to 20 percent higher than average, he said. |
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