The realities of grape growing are shifting. From rising input costs and labor challenges to market uncertainty and tightening winery contracts, Napa Valley growers are navigating one of the most complex business landscapes in recent history. Recognizing these challenges, the Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) had the foresight to apply for federal support through the USDA’s Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) program.

This grant directly funds grower services throughout 2026, helping NVG members strengthen the financial, marketing, and legal foundations of their vineyard businesses.

Grant-funded services will be available to growers throughout 2026, designed to build business resiliency and long-term sustainability. To be eligible for complimentary one-on-one services, we encourage growers to attend the corresponding Business of Vineyards webinar in their area of interest. That way, participants can receive:

• An in-depth Business of Vineyards webinar focused on financial, marketing, or legal strategies.
• Personalized one-on-one consultations with financial advisors, marketing experts, or attorneys—​valued at up to $45,000 in total support for the grower community.
• Access recordings, templates, and tools to apply new strategies directly to their vineyard operations.

* or until program funds have been fully utilized.

December 2, 2025: Financial Resiliency
In today’s complex agricultural environment, making informed decisions is more important than ever. Declining revenue and rising expenses challenge even the most seasoned growers, making it essential to adjust costs to maintain profitability. But how do you know where to start?
Join us for a practical conversation on vineyard economics, including how to evaluate costs, identify savings, and plan for long-term profitability. Jon Moramarco of bw166 will offer his perspective on the financial realities growers are facing today, providing context and tools to support confident, data-driven decision-making. Following Jon’s presentation, Brotemarkle & Davis will provide an overview of their financial services and resources available to growers.
Attendees will be eligible to receive personalized insight into your vineyard’s costs, revenue, and profitability potential with Brotemarkle & Davis. 

January 20, 2025: Marketing Resiliency
The market for wine grapes continues to evolve, and growers are being asked to do more than ever to stand out. Success today requires more than great fruit, it demands a clear understanding of how to position your vineyard, tell your story, and build lasting partnerships with wineries.
Join us for an inspiring and practical session with Michael Cuffe, Napa native and founder of Napa Valley Creative Agency. Drawing from his experience with Visit Napa Valley and years of producing content that celebrates our region, Michael will share how to effectively market your vineyard, build visibility, and position your brand in a changing marketplace. You’ll learn what today’s buyers and consumers are looking for—and how to authentically communicate the value of your vineyard.
Attendees will be eligible to work with Michael Cuffe for personalized marketing audit designed to help you market your vineyard more effectively. 

February 10: Legal Resiliency
​The legal aspects of farming are more complex than ever, especially when it comes to grape sales agreements. Whether negotiating an existing contract with a winery or securing a new one, understanding the legal implications of these decisions is essential to minimizing risk and ensuring the long-term success of your operation.
Scott Greenwood-Meinert of Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP will share insights on navigating grape sales agreements, addressing common challenges, and strategies for protecting your vineyard’s legal interests in an evolving marketplace.
Attendees will be eligible to work with Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP for personalized legal support tailored to the needs of your vineyard operation. 

Please note: For all services, we may not be able to accommodate everyone. If demand is high, small producers will be given priority.

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:

• Our founders helped create and pass legislation ensuring Napa Valley growers were not only recognized but fairly rewarded for their efforts in cultivating some of the best grapes grown in the state of California. NVG evolved to promote the use of geographical and historical indicators to establish a wine’s appellation, allowing consumers to further distinguish Napa Valley wines.
• NVG participated in crafting the Winery Definition Ordinance and supported Measure J as a means to add more impactful longevity to Napa County’s groundbreaking Agricultural Preserve.
• When organic farming began to gain traction in Napa vineyards, NVG launched the Organic Winegrowing Conference to disseminate cutting-edge viticultural practices, a practice that serves as a pillar of our organization to this day.
• Our support of and collaboration with the Napa County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office helped eradicate the invasive European Grapevine Moth from Napa’s vineyards.
• In 2018, NVG leadership took the bold step to transition the organization’s nonprofit status from a 501(c)(5) to a 501(c)(3), empowering our efforts to bridge to the greater community. We remain committed to providing key technical education and unwavering advocacy for our members and their vineyards while embarking upon outreach to the community to promote our unique grape-growing heritage.

The NVG Board of Directors, in collaboration with our dedicated NVG staff, has curated a year-long celebration of this milestone, complete with monthly themes highlighting important aspects of our past, present, and future. Our “Grown in Napa Valley” Podcast, released on the tenth of each month, will feature a cast of growers and winemakers who have played a pivotal role in the success of our valley. I invite you to tune in to our freshly released January episode featuring Richard Mendelson and, appropriately, Ren Harris.

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

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.
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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!

This 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.

• NEW for 2025 – Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) - County based coverage option allowing you toinsure up to 95% of your crop value using county-based losses.
• NEW for 2025 – Fire Insurance Protection – Smoke Index (FIP-SI) – County based smoke exposurecoverage option allowing you to add additional smoke coverage to your underlying policy usingcounty-based NOAA air quality data to determine a loss.

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)

• Funding to support ROOTSTOCK 2024 focused on Red Leaf Virus and Red Blotch Disease. 
• Funding to support Ahead of the Curve 2025 focused on the benefits of AI to compact a changing climate

USDA Risk Management Agency Grant
$168,000 (September 2024 – February 2026)

• Development of an Organic Farming Practices Report
• Creation of an Interactive Educational Tool (360-degree video)
• Funding to support the Sustainable Vineyard Practices Seminar focused on irrigation and water conservation in 2025

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:

• Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Prevention webpage
• Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Combined Indoor and Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Model Plan for Employers
• Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Fact Sheet for Employers
• Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Fact Sheet for Workers
• Indoor Heat Illness Prevention webpage
• Comparison Chart of Indoor and Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Standards

​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.

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.”

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: 

• Winter and spring rains led to full reservoirs and healthy, saturated soils, ideal conditions as grape growers headed into bud break
• The mild, warm summer weather (72-75 degrees F) supported healthy canopy growth through bloom and set
• Though vineyards faced mildew pressure, clusters remained loose for good air flow, berries were small with concentrated flavors and the weather remained consistent
• Harvest kicked off around Labor Day weekend (September 2-4, 2023) for white wine grapes; Cabernet Sauvignon harvest started the end of September / early-October; all picks wrapped up by mid-November
• Grape growers and winemakers relished the long harvest season, which provided varieties extended hang time to develop flavors true to their unique locations

LEARN MORE ABOUT NAPA VALLEY’S HARVEST

• Photos and stories on social media
  • Instagram: @napa_valley_grapegrowers, @NapaVintners
  • Facebook: @napavalleygrapegrowers, @NapaVintners
• Regular updates about the growing season
• Year-round vintage updates from winemakers at harvestnapa.com

​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.
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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.