Production Process / Napa Job Reports

We have spoken a lot recently about important issues concerning branding, authenticity, pricing, and distribution; however, I think I personally lost sight of some of the production ideas we discussed earlier in the quarter.  One reason (among many) that it was so great to hear from Ivo Jeramaz this past Friday was his discussion of the production process and how it relates to the company's branding and authenticity appeal.

I found it especially nice to hear how much respect and care he has for employees on the vineyard and how this relates to the wine story.  I was struck by his reference to the connection between the care a company has for its employees and the care they will have in producing the product - in this instance, the care they will have for the grapes.  As part of his story, this translates into better grapes and better wine.

My question for him focused on some of the mechanics of work (full-time vs. part-time, months of the year, etc.) and I decided to do a bit more research.  Napa (chosen given its proximity to us) specifically is enjoying some nice job growth, and has a current unemployment rate of 4.8% (vs. 5.8% a year ago), which is down from its peak of 11.4% in January 2010.  The number of people looking for a job dropped 16.7% from a year ago.  The majority of people in the region are involved in the wine industry according to the report.

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/unemployment-dips-in-napa-county/article_c049cbd0-4182-5392-bc1b-db46894d2877.html

The strength of the wine market has also had effects upstream on the real estate market for land and homes.  The median price of houses rose 4.7% in 2015 to $550,000 and the number of days it took to flip a home declined to 83 days, the shortest since 2005 (please see link below for source of statistics).  The strength of the economy, however, has resulted in a 10% increase in the average price of rentals over the past year.  The linked article below (where these statistics come from) raises the dual impact of the wine industry success: on the one hand, unemployment is low, new businesses are starting, and real estate values are up; on the other hand, such growth can have significant impact on those that are renters and / or low wage earners to the extent they are priced out of the market as more capital moves into the region.

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/napa-county-economy-shines-in/article_6bb33674-43b4-599f-bdc0-d9c8230561a3.html