Amador County – The Board of Supervisors took preliminary steps Tuesday towards defining and regulating wineries in the Amador County Ordinance Code. The discussion is likely the first in a long process of reviewing and restructuring the entire ordinance. The issue was brought before the Supervisors by confused and sometimes frustrated vintners who say Ordinance Number 1320 and other district regulations don’t go for enough to draw guidelines for Amador County wineries. Jane O’Riordan of Terra Rouge Winery said “I’ve been in the business 25 years. All these resolutions, even for people who have been in the business, can be confusing.” Included in the agenda packet were 39 pages of current ordinance and regulations. She said there is currently no distinction between a Master License and a Duplicate License. Under a Master License you can process grapes and have wine tastings, while a Duplicate License only allows the latter. “Other counties have requirements and feel they have the legal capabilities to enforce (requirements) through commerce laws,” said O’Riordan. Also under contention is whether any new regulations would apply to existing wineries that have in some cases functioned for centuries under vague guidelines. Supervisor John Plasse said “we’ve got to have ordinances that are conducive to new business start ups.” Supervisors also asked what vintners can call themselves “Amador County Wines” and whether winemakers should be concerned about outside competitors . Plasse said that if “it’s going to say ‘Amador Wine’, it has to use a certain percentage of grapes from Amador county.” Plasse quoted vintner Charles Spinetta as saying, “None of us care about competition, but we do care about unfair competition.” The Supervisors agreed to form an ad hoc committee to address the ordinance review. The committee will be comprised of 3 vintners, 3 wine grape growers and 2 members of the public associated with the wine business. Also included will be two supervisors. District 5 Supervisor Brian Oneto, whose district claims the Shenandoah Valley and the majority of Amador County’s wine business, volunteered to be a part of the committee along with District 3 Supervisor Ted Novelli. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.