To  Sonoma County Winery Owners and stakeholders,

We urge you to oppose the current proposal for establishing a Wine Improvement District (WID) in Sonoma County.

The proposed WID, backed by the Sonoma County Winegrowers and (apparently)  Sonoma County Vintners, seeks to levy a fee on all direct-to-consumer (DTC) winery sales in the county to fund collective marketing efforts. While the intent may be to bolster tourism and visibility, the approach—raising prices in an already fragile market—is deeply flawed and potentially harmful.

Let’s be honest: if someone told you that the best way to make wine more accessible and attract new consumers was to raise prices, you’d call them crazy. And yet, that is precisely what this proposal asks us to accept.

THE ILLUSION OF “EXPLORATION”

Despite language around “exploring the potential” of a WID, the truth is this initiative is well past the exploratory phase. The language on the Sonoma County Winegrowers' website makes it clear:

“We must reverse the decline and grow the overall wine category now... Through the WID, we will be able to secure a significant, stable supply of funding needed to promote Sonoma County…”

This isn’t an open conversation. It’s a sales pitch for a plan that’s already been decided.

TEMECULA: MODEL OR MIRAGE?

Supporters of the WID hold up Temecula as a success story, citing an 88% increase in DTC sales and a 75% rise in paid tastings since implementing their WID in 2021. These numbers, drawn from the 2024 Temecula Valley Wine Country Economic Impact Report, sound impressive—until you examine the data.

• The 2019 baseline report relied entirely on surveys from just 19 wineries. The 2024 version had only 21 direct responses and then added estimated sales figures from 24 other wineries using outside metrics. It’s no surprise that sales are up 88% if you increase the number of wineries involved by 236%.
• That same report shows a decline of nearly 300,000 “other visits” (which includes unpaid tastings) and a drop of nearly 40,000 hotel stays tied to winery visits.
• Minutes from Temecula’s June 2025 Winegrowers Association meeting reveal that board members had no agreed-upon benchmark for what ROI even looks like. One asked, “What does ROI success look like?” No one could answer.

Meanwhile, local real estate agents in Temecula report more wineries than ever are for sale. And according to longtime broker Ben Fraleigh:

“There’s no growth. You can’t find enough people to harvest grapes. People come out wine tasting and don’t buy. That’s a problem.”

This is the model we’re being asked to emulate.

MORE FEES, SAME PLAYBOOK

In other California counties, WID assessments have replaced membership dues and everyone paying the WID automatically became voting members of the winery associations. But here in Sonoma, the WID would stack on top of existing dues. Many wineries would be taxed without any representation. As the proposal states,

“The new funds from tasting room purchases would complement the investment you already make…”

That’s not just a hard sell. It’s an unfair one. Especially when the proposed strategies—media outreach, digital ads, special events—are the same recycled tactics that haven’t stemmed the current challenges. If these efforts were working, would we be facing such steep declines?

WHERE ARE THE NEW IDEAS?

What we need isn’t more funding for old strategies. We need new, creative thinking that actually addresses why wine sales are down and how to reverse the trend.

In early 2024, a “Throwback Tasting Day” was proposed—rolling back tasting fees to $20 for a single day in November to welcome new and returning wine lovers. It wasn’t a silver bullet, but it was at least a new idea. The response from Sonoma County Vintners? Silence.

Thankfully, individual wineries are stepping up with their own innovations:

DeLoach now offers free tastings on Thursdays and Sundays.

Kendall-Jackson and La Crema host free social hours.

These efforts aim to build community, not just extract revenue.

We’re not denying that the Sonoma County wine industry faces challenges. But raising consumer prices through a mandated WID—without clear benchmarks, proven ROI, or real innovation—is not the solution. It’s just a tax in marketing-speak.

THE ASK

We call on the Steering Committee and our industry leaders to pause this initiative and engage in a genuine and transparent evaluation process. That means:

• Demanding clear goals and measurable ROI before any assessment is considered.
• Critically reassessing Temecula not as a shining example, but as a mixed-result case study – while also examinging newly founded WIDs in other parts of the state.
• Engaging in open dialogue with the broader Sonoma wine community—especially small producers, which make up the majority of wineries in the county. Call a General Meeting in which all wineries - small and large, can express their feelings and share their idea. 
• Prioritizing innovation over inertia.

Sonoma County has long been a leader in quality, sustainability, and community. Let’s not risk that by rushing into a WID based on uncertain benefits and outdated ideas.

We encourage you to sign this petition in opposition to the current WID proposal, and to stand for a more thoughtful, inclusive, and innovative approach to solving the challenges we all face.