Publisher’s Forum
‘Go time’ for the wine industry— and a no-go for SSU cuts
By Lawrence Amaturo
T his is “go time” for our thousands upon thousands of wine-industry folks throughout the North Bay. Together, they have helped build one of America's most successful and well-regarded Industries in the entire world. And this regard has been rightfully earned— billions of dollars of capital value has been created within our counties. Winemakers are referred to as rock stars and are provided that same sticky sweet reverence by complete strangers who fawn over them to breathe the same air and hope for a passing smile. (Please don't take this as a personal gripe, Dan Kosta.... it's more like jealousy!) The truth is that this respect, in many cases, is rightfully earned. "New World" wine, as you'll see it noted on the wine lists of some of New York's, Chicago's and Paris' finest restaurants, has become the gold standard for taste, quality and consistency. Longtime North Bay farmers have made this all possible. And so have former geologists with a knowledge of the North Bay's amazing soil, former bankers with cash to burn, and adventurous entrepreneurs with a dream to earn that same rock-star status Dan Kosta has without ever taking a music lesson. Each has assembled our workforce to develop thousands of wineries, thousands of brands and hundreds of thousands of talented employees to build one of our most important industries. Yet Gen Z isn't quite embracing all the ceremony and celebration this industry has built around mealtime. I see this within my own family as I watch my children, now 22, ignore the notion that their meal is somehow complemented by drinking wine alongside it. There is zero discussion behind the idea of pairing a meal with the spectrum of grape varietals we farm and produce in each of our North Bay counties. “Go time” isn't a phrase to suggest we need to abandon this industry. And, yes, there are massive health and societal benefits to living alcohol-free. Drinking responsibly, however, does hold a respectable place in our communities—and today's wine industry leaders must find the right approach to steel this notion among the next generation of drinking-age consumers. The industry's very survival depends on it. Our Wine Issue covers this and more. I'm thankful to Jason Walsh and his team’s coverage as they navigate to learn what's next in the industry. Here’s a “taste” of the pages ahead: Wine Report for Dummies: The Silicon Valley Bank State of the U.S. Wine Industry, written by Rob McMillan, is an annual report closely watched in the wine industry—it’s respected as a “must read” for both those in the business and wine lovers who want to see the industry flourish. The key takeaway for 2025 is the demographic shift from older drinkers (boomers are sunsetting, he writes) to younger drinkers, who aren’t necessarily into wine as much as other alcohols (or no alcohol at all). The industry must prove to young
drinkers why they should become oenophiles—starting now. Say You Want a Revolution? Our Vine Wise columnist Adam Lee looks back at the French Wine Revolt of 1907 and argues for a similar coalescing of wine-business groups to help further the collective interests of an industry facing major headwinds. The World’s Oldest Wine: Palm wine has been traced to the Pharaohs, but this sap-derived delight is virtually unknown in the U.S. Enter: Onye Ahanotu. A Sonoma County native (Rancho Cotate grad) who’s launched Ikenga Wines to bring the flavors of his ancestral Nigerian wine to California Wine Country. The only catch: The palm sap ferments instantly upon extraction, making bottling nearly impossible. Find out why Ahanotu is so determined to realize his dreams of marketing palm wines—and catching lightning in a bottle. SSU update Let me use this page to thank those who have personally reached out to join me in our efforts to uphold Sonoma State University's prominence as an academic body. Recent announcements to eliminate dozens of majors and the entirety of its NCAA Division II sports programs strike many—nearly everyone, in fact—as a short-sighted and, we believe, potentially fatal decision for the institution. And the solution to the school's $24 million budget deficit may likely be found elsewhere within the school's more than $230 million annual budget. Meanwhile, the school's administrative costs have skyrocketed even while enrollment has fallen by 38% since 2015. Sonoma State has the second-highest payroll and benefits expenditure for administrators, totaling $34 million, despite having the second-lowest enrollment (5,873) among all CSUs, according to SSU golf coach Val Verhunce and financial advisor Josh Sterling, who have helped put together a proposal to save SSU athletics. Interim President Emily Cutrer, when asked about why administrators were not taking a pay cut to help reduce the school's deficit, replied that she did not want to "set a bad precedent." Let me be clear: Dr Cutrer, eliminating dozens of majors, all of your sports programs and eroding the very school spirit that has been a part of SSU for decades "sets a bad precedent," too! g
But maybe I've got this all wrong!?! Share your points of view with me at LAmaturo@ MySonomaMedia.com
May 2025
NorthBaybiz 11
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