The Summer of Understaffed Tasting Rooms

Winery tasting room retail jobs are considered "fun" jobs by onlookers, but to many employed this way it's their livelihood. Wineries try to attract college students, retirees, people just entering the job market or people newly relocated to wine country who came for the wine lifestyle. Regardless, they probably have rent or a mortgage to pay and there's the problem.

In the Napa and Sonoma County areas we have historically low unemployment like much of the country and a tight housing market. Most tasting room people probably make $15-$18 per hour. Sometimes there is commission, too.

The housing market has been tight for several years. The wine country fires of late 2017 made it worse and sent rents and mortgages upward. Also, after the fires some people just left the area if they lost their residence to the flames or escalating rents. This means even though there are fewer people around to take these jobs the wages don't easily allow them to live here.

Oh yeah, visitation to Napa and Sonoma is up with the economy humming along.

This is going to make for a shortage in the tasting rooms this year while the number of visitors remains high. It doesn't look good for service. You'll find a lot of wineries that allowed walk-in tasting for years have gone to appointment-only. This way they can control the peak crowd size to fit their staffing.

It could be an interesting summer of lines and complaints about service though everyone is doing the best the can in the tight labor market.

Not saying don't visit, just be smart about where and when. Timing: Saturday afternoons and long weekends are times of peak visitation. Napa: Highway 29 through the heart of Napa Valley is the most crowded. This should tell you to stay off this road on Saturday. In Sonoma County if you're near the main artery, highway US101, or in the popular towns of Healdsburg or Sonoma on a Saturday afternoon there could be crowds. One option is to go the appointment way rather than walking in during the busiest times.