The Threat to California Tourism

Tourism is big business in California. It's a $130 billion sector of the economy supporting one million jobs. It's a big reason the state's economy is in such great shape now. State unemployment is about 4%, Sonoma County's about 2.5%. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are where you don't see tourists.

Visitation to local California wineries is down and people are trying to figure out why. When the economy recovered a few years ago visitation grew rapidly. It's natural to think this would eventually flatten out. But is there another issue in play here? Yes

Wine and Craft Beer Sales

Wine consumption in the U.S. is up for 2018. That's 25 years of continuous growth in the amount of wine we drink. This was a 0.4% increase while 2017 saw a 1.0% increase and 2016 was 1.4% so the growth rate is slowing.

Beer was the big loser again falling 1.5% in 2018 compared to 1.1% in 2017 (though craft beer is up). Overall, Americans are drinking less alcohol probably because of health concerns. Total consumption dropped 0.8%, the third straight year showing a decline.

From 2017 to 2018 the number of wineries in the country grew from 12,335 to 13,000, a 5.4% increase. The number of craft breweries grew from 6,300 to to 7,000, an 11.1% increase.

Info from International Wine & Spirits Record (UK) and Brewers Association

Tasting Room Visitor Traffic

Visitors to West Coast tasting rooms is showing a yearly decline except for Oregon.

Info from Silicon Valley Bank

Why are our local Napa/Sonoma wineries seeing fewer visitors? Recently it's been easy to place the blame on the fires, but the numbers were decreasing before 2017. There are more wineries so there are more options for visitors. Are they going to fewer places per day (and maybe that's related to higher tasting fees)? Are other wine areas siphoning off visitors?

You Are What You Drink

Some folks swear by Chevrolet for their car choice (ignoring that it may actually be made in Korea, Mexico or somewhere besides Detroit). These same folks might have a diet consisting of mostly meat and potatoes. They hate change. Others had a Prius ten years ago and now a Tesla. They eat sushi and go on fad diets. They love change. This might reflect their wine choices, too.

Cider Tasting in Sonoma County

It's not just wine tasting and breweries. Sonoma County has a history of apple production so naturally there are several cideries in the county now with tasting rooms.

Zinfandel Fan?

Are you a big fan of Zinfandel? Those berry flavors, the pepper and spice, and everything nice. Well, you should make it you mission in life to come to San Francisco in January.

Wine Memes

Today's theme -- the movies!

Trouble for Craft Beer?

Craft beer's wild growth over the past ten years might be seeing some settling out. I guess at some point there just had to be too many IPAs out there.

It was just announced that Hanger 24 out of Southern California is laying off about half of their smallish production staff. They aren't huge, nor are they a tiny brewery selling everything out of their brewery, and there's the problem.

What Wines to Drink in the New Year

Here it is a new year and we make resolutions to lose weight, call mom more often, don't date losers, etc. None of that works and we get frustrated so I'm here to make it easy with ideas for drinking wine. Many of us are stuck in the Chard/Cab or maybe Sauv Blanc/Pinot Noir rut so let's look at what wine changes we could make this year.

Wine Predictions for the New Year

A new year is upon us and this means all of us "experts" have to tell you what's going to change this year. The good news is you'll forget it all 12 months from now so there's no need to actually be good at predicting the future.

So here goes nothin'

Sonoma County Oceanfront Bars

Traversing the Pacific Coast Highway offers many great views. However, if you're driving your attention is (hopefully) on the winding road. How about stopping and enjoying a drink along the ocean? Sounds relaxing.

Following are some places to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the Pacific traveling from south to north along Highway 1. The first three are in the Bodega Bay area; the last is about an hour farther up the coast.

Off the Radar Sonoma County Eateries

Sonoma County is definitely known for fine dining. Many places are well known by visitors -- Single Thread, Girl & the Fig, Glen Ellen Star, Willi's Seafood, etc. The following list maybe isn't quite so well known, but will give you a real taste of Sonoma County and what the locals enjoy every day. Many of these places are nothing fancy, are off the beaten path, and none will break the bank.