Hello to all from Oregon,

To everyone in this next generation of "truth to power" people, I say Thank you! Thank you!

I had to move on and am now in Eugene, Oregon, as you may know, but in the three years since, I have lectured and written about the Napa Valley experience with big wine -- powerpoint, etc. Last month, three of the founders of the core Willamette Valley wine people visited for 3 hours to dissect the problems in Napa Valley. They bluntly stated when they called that they were trying to "avoid what happened in the Napa Valley". So they and others in Oregon are watching carefully -- it is already a lesson for all wine districts. Your work was and is important to every region.

When we met, I recommended a book by César Hildago, at MIT's Media Lab, called Why Information Grows. The title does not fully identify why it applies to wine countries but it offers a future perspective on what can and will happen to regions whose economic products are anchored the land and why. It's worth a read and some brainstorming for where to take your momentum.

Know there are a lot of people in Oregon cheering you on too!
Sandy