Bill Hocker | Jun 17, 2015Napa relaxes grape-content rule for industrial wineries in city limits
Although it is hard to extrapolate a trend from one incidence, it should be obvious that as the number of wineries seeking Napa grapes continues to outpace new vineyard creation that the pressure of high prices and scarce supply will build against the 75% rule. Also the number of "winery" event venues required by an ever increasing Napa tourism industry and the exploding interest in "Napa" brand wine by a world population unconcerned whether the word "Napa" is on the front or the back label means that big money interests are now being impeded by the rule. We can watch as more exemptions are demanded until the rule is abandoned and the name "Napa" on a bottle becomes meaningless. Or we can try to stop the trend.