California reports that Napa Countyâs estimated population has shrunk slightly for the fourth consecutive year, leaving the county with fewer people than it had in 2012.
The county on July 2020 had 138,711 residents, according to the state Department of Financeâs preliminary estimate. Thatâs lower than the revised 139,874 estimate in 2019, the all-time high of 141,649 in 2016 and even the 139,026 in 2012.
Visible signs are mixed. On one hand, hundreds of new apartments can be seen in the city of Napa. But the 2017 wildfires destroyed about 650 rural homes. Last yearâs Hennessey and Glass fires more than doubled that number, but came after the population estimate time window.
Save the Family Farms is trying to get its micro-producer, mom-and-pop wine world proposals on Napa Countyâs 2021 âto-doâ list.
Members first approached the Board of Supervisors publicly more than two years ago. They say grape growers producing small amounts of wine should be able to hold wine tastings on their farms without building a winery â perhaps at a picnic table near vineyards.
Without a solution, small family farms will cease to exist, said Ken Nerlove, who owns vineyards near Jameson Canyon and makes his Elkhorn Peak wines offsite.
âThat would be a shame, because most of us remember how it started: small,â he recently told the Board of Supervisors. âThe small guys made this valley. Without the small guy, Napa Valley will lose its soul.â