W. Blake Gray, Wine-Searcher

Napa County politics sound angry from a distance. Up close, they are strikingly polite. But politicians there also may not be directly addressing the issues that the community cares about most.
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Last week I drove up from San Francisco to watch a debate between the six candidates running for three seats on Napa County's Board of Supervisors. The Board has only five members, so the upcoming election in March is crucial. It will decide how friendly the county will be to the wine industry, and how much it will restrict development to please environmentalists.

Dan Evans, Napa Valley Register 

...At the forum Monday, sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintner and Napa Valley Grapegrowers, the candidates were peppered with questions on a wide variety of topics, an excellent way to give attendees a broad understanding of where they fall on the hot-button issues. The one-minute limit for answers also kept the candidates from straying too far from the topic — two things I very much appreciated.
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And, I will say, there seemed to be a fair amount of respect each of the candidates had for their opponents — as well as for their potential, future colleagues. The only minor flare up happened during the candidates’ closing statements when Pete Mott — running for the District 4 position — took a potshot at his opponent, Amber Manfree, complaining that she had only spent a few years in the last two decades living in the county. (Manfree, who had preceded Mott with her own closing statement, was unable to respond, which looked tactical from my perspective.)

Edward Booth, The Press Democrat 

The six candidates vying for three Napa County Board of Supervisors seats responded to a series of questions at a recent candidate forum, much of it focused on agriculture, environment and the local workforce.
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Well over 100 people showed up to the Culinary Institute of America at Copia in Napa’s Oxbow District on Jan. 22 to watch the forum. It was hosted by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers and the Napa Valley Vintners and moderated by local radio broadcaster Barry Martin.

The future of Napa Valley’s farmland, sustainability and fire prevention were among the issues candidates running for Napa County supervisors discussed this week.

The six candidates gathered Monday at CIA at Copia in Napa to answer questions prepared by a committee of Napa Valley Vintners and Napa Valley Grapegrowers members.  Both organizations stressed they do not endorse political candidates.

The format was designed “to understand a little more about where everybody is coming from,” said Cyril Chappellet, Chappellet Vineyard’s president and CEO and Napa Valley Vintners’ board chairman.
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Monday’s panel included one incumbent – Belia Ramos of American Canyon. The other candidates were Liz Alessio, a Napa city councilwoman; Doris Gentry, a former Napa city councilwoman; Amber Manfree, a scientist and environmental activist; and Mariam Aboudamous, an American Canyon city councilwoman; and Peter “Pete” Mott, a former Napa city councilman and businessman.

Barry Eberling, Napa Valley Register 

Vineyard and winery development, wildfire prevention, greenhouse gas emissions — those were some of the topics Napa County Board of Supervisors hopefuls tackled in a candidates’ forum.

2nd District candidates Liz Alessio and Doris Gentry participated. 4th District candidates Amber Manfree and Peter Mott participated. 5th District candidates Mariam Aboudamous and incumbent Belia Ramos participated.

The Napa Valley Vintners and Napa Valley Grapegrowers sponsored the event Monday evening at CIA at Copia in the city of Napa’s Oxbow district. Three of the five Napa supervisor seats are on the March 5 ballot.

The six candidates sat in chairs in a Copia theater and looked up at about 225 people in the audience. Moderator Barry Martin asked questions. Do candidates think there has been too much vineyard and winery development, and what do they think about restrictions on applications that comply with current laws?

– Napa Valley Grapegrowers, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, has announced Caleb Mosley as Executive Director as of February 5, 2024. Mosley will lead the organization after serving on its Board of Directors since 2019.

Mosley grew up on a mountaintop vineyard before studying Wine and Viticulture at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He then landed back in the rugged Santa Cruz Mountains in 2006 as the Viticulturist at Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello, under the tutelage of David Gates and Paul Draper. At the onset of the 2011 vintage, he moved to Araujo Estate in Calistoga to manage the Eisele Vineyard, working with Steve Matthiasson, Bob Gallagher, and Jeff Dawson, while collaborating with winemakers Nigel Kinsman, Francoise Peschon, and Michel Rolland.

​From the Eisele Vineyard, Mosley continued to the estate at Quintessa in Rutherford, bringing technological advances and detailed methodologies to the forefront. In 2016 he was hired as Senior Viticulturist for Michael Wolf Vineyard Services, where he farmed 800 acres spanning Carneros in the south to the far reaches of Calistoga in the north, providing perspective on the entirety and complexity of the Napa Valley. He then joined Matthiasson Family Vineyards in 2021, managing all aspects of Steve Matthiasson’s organic vineyards, growing production and improving facilities while cultivating more obscure varieties such as Ribolla Gialla and Refosco.

Press Release

The Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) and the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) are co-hosting a Board of Supervisors Candidate Forum to educate community members on key issues facing the Napa County wine community leading up to the supervisorial election.

Join the Napa Valley Grapegrowers and the Napa Valley Vintners for a Napa County Board of Supervisors Candidate Forum, on Monday, January 22, 2024, from 5pm – 7pm at CIA at Copia in Napa. Attendees will hear directly from the 6 candidates vying for the County Board of Supervisors seats in this spring’s election:
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• District 2: Liz Alessio and Doris Gentry
• District 4: Amber Manfree and Pete Mott
• District 5: Belia Ramos (incumbent) and Mariam Aboudamous​