A multi-million-dollar grant has been awarded to Napa County to help build fireproof structures. db discovers what this means for winemakers. Napa County has been allocated a federal Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant to help build fire-resistant properties in the region. In addition to the considerable US$37.5 million sum, Napa County government will also match 25% of the grant, which it says will “have a tremendous impact on our ability to drive and uphold investment in wildfire resiliency projects that will bring value to our region in the years ahead.” The drinks business spoke with Rex Stults, vice president of industry relation for Napa Valley Vintners, who works on wildfire prevention and mitigation, about what the grant means for winemakers in the region. Napa Valley Vintners, a nonprofit trade association with around 539 members, has been instrumental in lobbying for the federal support. According to Stults, wildfire is Napa Valley Vinters’ “top priority” when it comes to issues facing the wine industry. “We’re thrilled that our county government pursued this critical funding and is coming up with the multimillion dollar matching funding requirement as well,” Stults told db. “It demonstrates the county’s commitment to the issue of wildfires, which affect each and every resident of Napa County, stretching far beyond the local wine industry. The 2020 wildfires cost the Napa wine industry alone an estimated US$2 billion.” Stults said that the multi-year Community Wildfire Protection Plan is “already making our community safer” but cautioned that “we need to
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
