Sonoma County Winegrowers and Sonoma County Vintners explore merger

Sonoma County's two largest wine trade organizations are exploring a merger as the wine industry continues to confront declining alcohol consumption, tasting room traffic, wine sales, tourism and a sluggish grape market.

In January, Sonoma County Winegrowers, a longtime advocate for the region's grape growers, announced a reorganization to increase support for local wineries - a mission long associated with Sonoma County Vintners.

CEO Karissa Kruse, who once managed day-to-day operations, now focuses on building national partnerships to promote Sonoma County wine and expand market demand. Recent partnerships include the San Francisco Giants, Taste of NFL and Taste of the Draft.

"Ten years ago, we weren't talking about helping wineries sell wine - it was all about promoting our grapes," Kruse said in January. "But in order for us to be successful today, we need to help our winery partners move through their inventories, find new markets and help the bulk marketplace. It's clear collaboration is needed."

Kruse's new role came after the Sonoma County Vintners announced a major restructuring and job cuts in November, leaving the nonprofit's future uncertain.

In a membership meeting last year, Vintners' President Prema Kerollis acknowledged the "very rough waters" the wine industry continues to navigate.

"The wine industry is in a time of radical change and that absolutely applies to the Sonoma County Vintners as well," Kerollis said. "We've been working in earnest to first self-audit ourselves as an organization, then re-envision what the future can look like."

Seven months later, the future may be a merger - one that could reduce duplicative efforts between both organizations while maximizing resources.

In a May survey seeking input from members, the Vintners said it had formed a joint leadership task force with the Winegrowers to identify how the organizations could evolve to address future industry challenges.

"This spirit of collaboration will guide ongoing discussions as the organizations evaluate opportunities for closer alignment, collaboration and potentially a more unified winery membership structure…" stated Emilie Eliason, the Vintners' interim executive director. "As consumer behaviors shift, competition intensifies, and economic pressures continue across the wine sector, Sonoma County must speak with one clear, unified voice because Sonoma County wine is simply better together."

While neither organization would confirm a partial or total merger, some in the wine industry believe it would be a positive step.

"I think uniting forces would be great for both organizations," said David Ramey, founder of Ramey Wine Cellars. "Combining our budgets and marketing efforts would be a plus for getting the word out on how superb Sonoma County is for growing and making world-class wines."

John Balletto, founder of Balletto Vineyards in the Russian River Valley, is a member of both the Vintners and the Winegrowers.

"Unfortunately, when times are tough, most wineries trim their promotion budgets when it should be the exact opposite," Balletto said. "Rather than the Vintners totally fading away, it will only help our industry if they work with the Winegrowers to promote tourism and sell more wine. That will help growers sell more grapes."

Sarah Doyle is the wine and beverage reporter at The Press Democrat. Send her story tips at sarah.doyle@pressdemocrat.com

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