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Preface
I want to preface my comments with a little bit of my personal story. I first visited Sonoma County as a college student in the Summer of 1986. I was spending a summer in Walnut Creek with a girlfriend (ah, young love) and would take weekend trips to Napa Valley where I became convinced that I knew something about wine because of which White Zinfandel I preferred. One Saturday, we decided to visit Sonoma County where, overlooking vines and the Russian River, I tasted the first red wine that I loved. Three years later, I was selling wine in Texas, visiting Sonoma County on buying trips, and being welcomed with open arms by the Sonoma wine community. In 1993, I moved to Sonoma because of this wine community and the openness and honesty that you all showed me. I fell in love with Sonoma County then and I’ve never stopped loving it.
It is with that backdrop that I express my disappointment about what I learned last week.
New Revelations
Last week, I received two documents that cast serious doubt on the narrative we’ve been told about the proposed Sonoma County Wine Improvement District (WID). But before we dig into those, let’s revisit what we were promised.
At the Sonoma Winegrowers meeting on August 4, 2025, we were assured that the WID was in its exploratory phase. Nothing had been decided. We were told that no steps would be taken without “broad industry input and support”—a message that echoed their earlier email to members. That meeting was recorded, so the statements are verifiable.
The San Francisco Chronicle described the meeting as moving from tense to cathartic and ended with this quote from the President and CEO of the Winegrowers, “I’m excited that we’re finally talking honestly.”
But are we?
I was forwarded the minutes from the March 31, 2025 Sonoma County Winegrowers board meeting. One line in particular jumped out:
“Motion to approve spending up to 100k to hire Civitas, purse [sic] the formation of a business improvement district under a management services agreement with the commission and establish the founding board. M/S/P Dutton/Seinfeld. Passed Unanimously.”
Let’s pause here. This wasn’t brought up at the August meeting. That’s not exploratory language. That’s action.
Who is Civitas?
According to its website, Civitas is not a neutral consultant brought in to weigh pros and cons. They are a full-service firm specializing in the creation of tourism-related Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)—and they profit from doing so. In fact, Civitas typically earns 2% of all funds raised annually from any district they help form, in addition to initial consulting fees. In Sonoma County, that means that Civitas could earn between $200,000 and $300,000 each year from the wineries.
They are not hired to study whether a WID is a good idea. They are hired to make it happen.
And yet, the Sonoma County Winegrowers Board voted unanimously to pay Civitas up to $100,000—nearly 12% of their entire marketing budget—to “pursue the formation” of a BID and to “establish the founding board.” That’s a very different story from what we were told on August 4.
So, let’s try again at being honest: this isn’t an “exploration.” It’s execution and the executioner has already been hired.
The June Minutes
The June 2, 2025 meeting minutes of the Sonoma Winegrowers add more fuel to the fire. Here’s what they state:
“Munselle (Chairman Bret Munselle) discussed timing of referendum and when to move forward with recently approved Business Improvement District process. The decision made was to move as quickly as possible hoping to be done before the BID petition begins.”
Once again, this wasn’t brought up at the August Winegrowers meeting. If we are being honest, just the opposite was stated. It’s not if, but how quickly can a WID be implemented. Not broad input but a decision made by a small group. Not transparency, but urgency.
Why This Matters
At this point, many of the assurances we’ve received must be called into question:
- “Early stages”? Clearly not.
- “Exploring the idea”? No evidence of that.
- “Broad industry support”? Not even attempted.
Worse, funds that could have been used to promote your grapes are instead being used to hire a company incentivized to push through a WID—regardless of whether it actually works in serving the growers’ or wineries’ best interests.
It’s Time for Straight Answers
As members of this community, we must demand transparency. Here are the questions we need answered and the actions that need to be taken:
- How much money has already been paid to Civitas? Are they still being paid? Are they actively working toward establishing a Sonoma County WID?
- Release the Services Agreement that the Winegrowers signed with Civitas. We all need to see what Civitas is on the hook to do and what promises the Sonoma Winegrowers made going forward.
- Is anyone on the Winegrowers board or the WID Steering Committee objectively evaluating whether WIDs have actually worked in places like Livermore or Temecula? (I’ve addressed this in more detail HERE).
- Why aren’t the WID Steering Committee meetings public? Why not host them on Zoom so the broader industry can follow along?
- Most importantly: Can we trust the Sonoma County Winegrowers to tell us the full truth?
We were told this process would be transparent and inclusive. So far, the evidence says otherwise.
The Sonoma County Wine Community that I first fell in love with demands better that this —starting with honest answers.
TO SIGN A PETITION OPPOSING, AS STRUCTURED, THE PROPOSED SONOMA COUNTY WID PROCESS CLICK HERE.
TO SUBMIT POSITIVE IDEAS ON HOW TO BETTER MARKET OUR SONOMA COUNTY WINE COMMUNITY EMAIL NEWSONOMAIDEAS@GMAIL.COM
TO ATTEND A ZOOM MEETING DISCUSSING THESE NEW IDEAS JOIN US ON AUGUST 26, 2025 AT 4PM PDT. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.