North Bay Business Journal
Napa County lifts expiration on microwinery program, opening door to expand access
County officials voted Tuesday to lift the looming expiration of its “microwinery” program, a two-year pilot that streamlined the approval process for ultra-small wine producers. The move makes the program permanent and clears the way for potential rule changes aimed at easing restrictions that some say have limited its impact.
Created in 2022, the ordinance carved out a category for producers making 5,000 gallons of wine or less each year, with no more than 20 daily visitor trips. Wineries must use mostly on-site or adjacent grapes, and they can’t hold promotional events — all in exchange for a faster, cheaper approval process.
Some small winemakers saw the program as their best shot at operating legally in Napa County. But with just two approvals in two years — and eight more still in the pipeline — advocates like Save the Family Farms have pushed the county to do more.
Four new applications came in just before the program’s May 5 expiration date, a surge officials say was driven by urgency.
“It’s not uncommon to see a rush of something submitted when there’s a deadline looming,” said Brian Bordona, the county’s planning, building and environmental services director. He said the county will check in with those applicants to see if they want to revise their submissions now that the program isn’t going away.
County planners are also drafting changes that could double both the annual production and daily visitor limits. Officials say they’ve started outreach with industry groups and expect to bring proposed revisions to the Planning Commission in August, with final approval by the Board of Supervisors later this year.
Source: https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/napa/napa-microwinery/