Tinkling glasses and celebratory cheers erupted across much of Santa Barbara wine country on Tuesday, as the county’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the creation of a one percent assessment on winery sales to support the region’s marketing efforts.
The “Wine BID” — which failed to gain enough support when first proposed in 2020 — will add the new fee to all direct-to-consumer sales from tasting rooms countywide and is expected to raise about $1.5 million annually for the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association. The association will then use that money to advertise the region, which is currently being outspent by places like Livermore and Temecula that have already approved similar BIDs. The funding model is expected to become even more common in the years to come, as Paso Robles, Monterey, and elsewhere are considering their own versions.
Santa Barbara’s Wine BID was the subject of about a dozen meetings over the past three months, including hearings at each of the eight cities in the county. The 126 wineries that signed petitions in favor of the idea represent nearly 60 percent of the county’s wine sales, while the four petitions filed in opposition only amounted to about 1.2 percent of sales.
The city hearings were mostly love fests about the success of the wine industry. Amid every other city’s unanimous support, Lompoc initially opted out of the district because just one councilmember voted no. The measure needed three of five votes to pass, and two of the other members could not vote due to wine industry ties, so that one “no” vote removed the city from the district. But then last Friday, Lompoc held an emergency meeting to recast votes, and the council unanimously approved being part of the Wine BID.
Compared to the large number of public commenters at each of the past hearings — the vast majority of which were in favor of the proposal — Tuesday’s hearing only featured three. Expressing concerns were Stephen Pepe of Clos Pepe Vineyard, who warned that consumers will reject the fee and that the county could be sued — and Kate Griffith of Flying Goat Cellars, who demanded help for integrating the fee into payment systems. To those concerns, county staff clarified that the Santa Barbara Vintners agreed from the initiation of this idea to indemnify the county against lawsuits, and the association’s head Alison Laslett, who has spearheaded the creation of the BID for five years now, pledged to help wineries with their transition if needed.
Speaking in favor of the Wine BID was longtime S.B. Vintners board member Stephen Janes, who is the GM at Gainey Vineyard.
“One of the charms of this county and this industry is that there are so many personalities,” said Janes. “To have close to 60 percent on board and unified is really remarkable to see. In many ways, this issue has brought us all closer together.” He noted the 45-0 combined votes of approval from the eight cities, thanked the wineries for their time invested on this, and asked those in the crowd to stand.
“In many ways,” he said to the supervisors, “you’re unified the industry more than it’s ever been.”
“It seems to me that this is a way for wineries across the board to pool their resources and be able to advertise the Santa Barbara brand,” said Supervisor Joan Hartmann, who represents the Santa Ynez Valley, where most of the county’s wineries are based. “I think the Wine BID is something for other visitor-serving entities to benefit from because you’re going to be promoting our whole region. I’m very supportive.”
She also rejected concerns that consumers will revolt against the fee. “I don’t think one percent is a big deal,” said Hartmann.
