Valley News


Gary Goldsmith/Daily Republic Victor Sanchez pulls out vines at the Babcock Vineyards on Suisun Valley Road. A grape glut has made some vines unprofitable.

5/16/2006
Editor’s note: This is the last of a three-part series examining the future of Suisun Valley.

BY NATHAN HALVERSON
Daily Republic

SUISUN VALLEY — On an otherwise clear spring morning, a column of white smoke rose into the sky above Suisun Valley. A large pile of grape vines only recently torn from the soil was burning.

As the day progressed, more plumes of smoke appeared across the valley, signaling the economic destruction sowed by years of falling grape prices.

Since 2002, growers have removed at least 200 acres of grape vines from the rich valley soil, piled them in heaps and set them ablaze because costs such as tractor fuel, fertilizers and employee wages have exceeded the amount farmers receive selling the grapes.

In particular, farmers growing common grape varieties such as Cabernet sauvignon and

Merlot have lost money because a glut of those grapes in the market has dropped their value.

Now many growers, who have been pushed to the brink, are making significant changes to their farms in an attempt to diversify their crops and incorporate new technology they hope will return profits.

Those changes aren’t cheap, and many farmers want to raise money by selling pieces of their farms. But Solano County officials have established specific zoning laws for Suisun Valley. The laws prohibit building a house on a parcel of land in Suisun Valley that is smaller than 40 acres – about the size of 30 football fields – unless that smaller parcel was established before 1963.

Many farmers want to reduce that prohibition on their land to 20 acres, some even 10 acres, and make the land more appealing to urban residents who will pay a premium for a slice of country life and a second home.

Farmers know allowing more development, even country estates, is a balancing...
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Buy fruits and vegetables at valley produce stands.

Buy wine at Wooden Valley Winery and Ledgewood Creek Winery in the valley.

Eat at a Suisun Valley restaurant.

Tell friends about the valley.

Be polite when you’re driving on a valley road and when you meet farmers driving on slower-moving tractors and farm equipment.

Attend Suisun Valley events.

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