Insights into the industry that drives commerce in the Napa Valley, as well as the wildfire challenge that helped to define the area’s character, were delivered at North Bay Business Journal's 12th annual Impact Napa conference on Aug. 20, 2019.

Conference guests got a look inside the Napa Valley wine industry as Richard Mendelson, of counsel for Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty in Napa as well as a noted author about the history of the industry in Napa, interviewed Linda Reiff, president and CEO of Napa Valley Vintners. It's a not-for-profit trade organization that represents 550 wineries and 99% of the wine production in the region that promotes the industry and conducts education efforts about its impact in the local economy.

Reiff, a part of that effort as its leader since 1995, has family roots in the wine business in Yolo County and her late husband, Richard, was the co-founder and managing partner of Saintsbury vineyards and winery in Napa. She’s served on the board of the Land Trust of Napa County and Visit Napa Valley.

Also, Warren Winiarski, a legend in the Napa Valley wine business since the milestone 1976 Judgment of Paris, spoke at the end of the conference about why the beverage has a nobility that makes it different from beer, spirits and selzers.

Impact Napa 2019

Warren Winiarski comments on nobility of wine at Impact Napa 2019

Linda Reiff of Napa Valley Vintners interview at Impact Napa 2019

Here's a snippet from North Bay Business Journal's Impact Sonoma conference on Friday, October 4, 2019. A big focus of the event was to recap progress toward rebuilding two years after the October 2017 wildfires destroyed thousands of homes in Santa Rosa and surrounding counties.

Read a recap of the conference: http://nbbj.news/sonoma19

The progress of reconstruction is this: As of September 63% of the homes lost in the 2017 fires and 93% of the homes lost in the devastated Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa alone are in various stages of construction.

The following is a question from Business Journal Publisher Brad Bollinger to a panel on rebuilding efforts. You'll hear from Jeff Okrepkie, founder of Coffey Strong, a group of neighbors who organized quickly to spur the recovery; Tom Schwedhelm, mayor of Santa Rosa; Jennifer Gray Thompson, executive director of the Rebuild Northbay Foundation; and Doug Hamilton, president of the North Coast Builders Exchange.

This is a production of North Bay Business Journal (http://nbbj.news), a Sonoma Media Investments company.

Impact Sonoma 2019

What's the outlook for Sonoma County fire recovery? - Impact Sonoma 2019

The San Francisco North Bay area's economic future may not be gangbusters, but thus far it doesn't look like it is headed for a recession, according to economist Robert Eyler's forecast Feb. 20, 2020, at the 27th annual Sonoma State University Economic Outlook Conference. Read a summary of this talk at https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/industrynews/education/10731855-181/recession-unlikely-in-the-next

SSU Economic Outlook Conference 2020

No recession before 2023, says Sonoma State University economist

Founded in 1987, the Business Journal's coverage has expanded from Santa Rosa to the rest of the San Francisco North Bay area, covering Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Solano, Mendocino and Lake counties.