Voting By Vintners, Wine Grape Growers to Determine the Fate of Marketing Board

The state’s nearly 6,000 vintners and growers of wine grapes, who joined in an uneasy alliance three years ago to promote the wine industry, have until Monday to vote on whether the program should continue beyond its scheduled demise June 30.

Growers and vintners need one another to survive, of course, but they have traditionally kept pretty much to their own trade groups--such as the Wine Institute in San Francisco and district associations of grape growers.

One reason for the separateness may be the sometimes rancorous nature of the business relationship. In it, farmers seek the highest possible price for their crop and vintners try to pay as little as they can.

The state Department of Food and Agriculture, which administers the Winegrowers of California marketing order, created by legislation three years ago, sent out ballots March 6, with Monday the deadline for returning them.

Majorities of both groups of voters must approve the proposal, which calls for replacing the state-administered marketing order with what would be the state’s eighth agricultural commission. These commissions--which promote such specialty crops as avocados, table grapes, wheat and pistachios--operate with greater freedom than is possible under a marketing order.

But a number of vintners in Napa and Sonoma counties have been vocal in urging an end to the marketing order and establishment of a vintners-only commission. According to Bob Dwyer, director of the Napa Valley Vintners Assn., an informal poll of 90 Napa wineries showed members strongly favoring a go-it-alone policy. Dwyer said frustrations with the operation of the joint marketing order underlie these vintners’ desire to form their own commission.

Criticisms have ranged from charges of cumbersome decision making by the 36-member board (18 vintners and 18 growers) to claims that San Joaquin Valley growers tend to side with the giant, Modesto-based E & J Gallo Winery, skewing industrywide representation even though each board member has but one vote.

However, the vintner groups have officially taken no position on the proposal to establish the Winegrowers of California Commission. On the other hand, many wine-district grower associations have endorsed the proposal. It also won the support of the California Farm Bureau Federation, which rarely takes sides in grower referendums.

“The stakes are too high not to allow the Winegrowers of California to continue as a joint commission,” explained President Henry J. Voss, who also grows grapes in the San Joaquin Valley town of Ceres.

The marketing program is financed by an assessment of 0.8% of the value of the crop, levied against both vintners and growers. That is expected to generate about $8 million this year, said Marilyn Day, program manager for Winegrowers of California.

The fruits of these funds--invested in a series of research and educational programs and lobbying for increased exports of wine--has only recently become apparent, according to Executive Director Robert D. Reynolds. These include:

- Reducing Japanese tariffs and excise taxes affecting U.S. wine.

- Increasing the number of California wines carried by the provincial wine monopolies in Canada.

- Obtaining an agreement with Taiwan giving California vintners access to 70,000 retail outlets.

The marketing order also financed development of staff training programs for use by restaurants and retailers in an effort to promote wine sales directly, Reynolds said. The program was based on marketing research that revealed that 68% of wine buyers asked for help from servers or sellers in selecting wines.

Preliminary findings indicate that wine sales increased by about 40% at the 20 restaurants where the program was tested, and from 10% to 50% at 20 test supermarkets, including Alpha Beta in Southern California, Reynolds said.

A spokesman for the Department of Food and Agriculture said results of the vote will be announced by the end of next week. For a valid vote, 40% of the eligible vintners and 40% of the eligible growers must participate. To pass, the proposal must be approved by either a majority of those voting, provided they represent at least 65% of the tonnage of the 1985 grape crush, or by 65% of the voters if they represent a simple majority of the tonnage.