VASCM: Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Improvement District Approved and Becomes Effective in 2026

jim at housefamilyvineyards.com jim at housefamilyvineyards.com
Sun Nov 9 18:37:34 GMT 2025 

Hi Megan,

 

Great questions, this process has lots of moving parts and we are trying to best communicate with all of the current and new members. Below is a concise bullet point overview, that should answer your questions. If you, or anyone else has questions about the WID, I am available by email or phone. Call anytime, 408-497-6542.

 

1. Wine Club Sales Within the WID Boundary

The key factor is where the sale transaction is processed, not where the wine is ultimately shipped.

*	If the sale is processed at your tasting room or winery within the WID boundaries, then those wine club sales are considered DTC sales within the WID.
*	This applies even if the customer lives out of the area (but within the State of California) and the wine is shipped to them. Out of state wine club or web sales are not assessed.
*	Pickup vs. shipping doesn’t matter — what matters is the point of sale (where the sale was entered into your POS system).

2. “DTC Sales Outside the WID Area Are Not Assessed”

“Outside the WID area” means that if the sale transaction happens outside the district boundaries (for example, at an offsite tasting event or through a separate fulfillment center located elsewhere), then those sales are not assessed.

*	Online webstore orders are typically processed through your winery’s POS system or ecommerce platform tied to your physical business location.

*	Therefore, if your winery’s physical address is within the WID, then all online orders (no matter where the buyer is located) are considered within the WID and are assessed.
*	If the winery itself is outside the WID, those same orders would not be.

So:
✅ Wine club orders processed by your winery within the WID = assessed DTC sales
🚫 Wine club orders processed elsewhere (e.g., fulfillment warehouse or out-of-area retail outlet) = not assessed

✅ Online sales processed at your winery (within WID) = assessed.
🚫 Sales processed outside the WID (different facility, different district) = not assessed.

 

 

Cheers, 

 

       Jim Cargill

 

 

 

             800.975.7191

www.HouseFamilyVineyards.com <https://www.housefamilyvineyards.com/> 

 

From: VASCM <vascm-bounces at lists.kkn.net> On Behalf Of Megan Bell
Sent: Saturday, November 8, 2025 8:56 AM
To: Jim Schultze <jameskschultze at gmail.com>; mary at munsvineyard.com
Cc: Richard Alfaro <Rfalfaro at aol.com>; vascm at lists.kkn.net
Subject: Re: VASCM: Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Improvement District Approved and Becomes Effective in 2026

 

Hi all,

 

Can someone please clarify how this works in regards to a wine club? The majority of our wine club members are out of state or out of the SCM region and have their wine shipped to them. I am also wondering about online webstore sales. 

 

1. Which wine club sales are considered part of the winery's DTC sales within the WID boundary? Is it only sales from members who pick up their shipment in person, or all wine club sales for shipments that are going across the state/country? Or neither?

 

2. Looking for clarification on this statement: "DTC sales outside the WID area are not assessed."  Does "outside the WID area" refer to the location of the customer? For example, orders from the online webstore that are being shipped to an area outside of Santa Cruz County, or ALL online orders from the webstore, regardless of customer location and whether or not the customer has selected "pick up at the tasting room" as an option?

 

Thanks so much,

Megan

 

On Tue, Nov 4, 2025 at 5:08 PM Jim Schultze <jameskschultze at gmail.com <mailto:jameskschultze at gmail.com> > wrote:

Thanks Ed – – that is a good summary. I found this article (link enclosed) to be quite relevant. Temecula has had its own WID for four years and it has enabled them to take the region to a new level. I would hope that we could do the

 same! 

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/temecula-valleys-wine-agricultural-heritage-130000978.html

 

Best, Jim.

James K. Schultze

Proprietor/Winemaker

Windy Oaks Estate

(831)724-9563





On Nov 4, 2025, at 3:14 PM, ed at munsvineyard.com <mailto:ed at munsvineyard.com>  wrote:



SCM WID “Cliff Notes” summary:

1.	The WID assessment replaces SCMWA annual dues to fund the regional marketing done by the SCMWA.
2.	The assessment is 1% of a winery’s DTC sales within the WID boundary.  DTC sales outside the WID area as well as wholesale sales are not assessed.  Since the WID funding formula differs from the prior SCMWA funding formula, the annual cost will also differ from what SCMWA members paid in the past.
3.	All wineries within the WID boundary are required to pay the WID assessment, whether or not they were formerly SCMWA members.
4.	The SCMWA manages the programs that the WID assessment funds.  WID wineries approve the programs, like the past when SCMWA members approved SCMWA programs.

 

Regards,

Ed Muns

Muns Vineyard

(408)515-2663

 

From: VASCM <vascm-bounces at lists.kkn.net <mailto:vascm-bounces at lists.kkn.net> > On Behalf Of Ryan Stirm
Sent: Tuesday, 4 November, 2025 14:03
To: Richard Alfaro <rfalfaro at aol.com <mailto:rfalfaro at aol.com> >
Cc: vascm at lists.kkn.net <mailto:vascm at lists.kkn.net> 
Subject: Re: VASCM: Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Improvement District Approved and Becomes Effective in 2026

 

Hard to see how much "benefit" this will bring the average SCM winery... seems more like a tax on the producers added during an already challenging time in the wine business.

 

On Tue, Nov 4, 2025 at 1:22 PM Richard Alfaro via VASCM <vascm at lists.kkn.net <mailto:vascm at lists.kkn.net> > wrote:

Out of state DTC are not part of the WID

Sent from my iPhone

 

On Nov 4, 2025, at 1:09 PM, Mary Lindsay <mary at munsvineyard.com <mailto:mary at munsvineyard.com> > wrote:

 

<VASCM_logo_Final.jpg>

 



About the New Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Improvement District 


On Oct. 21 the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Improvement District (SCMWID), the final step in making the WID a reality. More on what this means and details below. The SCMWA has been working on the WID for the past year, securing a weighted almost 80% of local winery support through petitions. All of the jurisdictions included in the WID boundary where wineries are located voted to approve:  Counties of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo; Cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Capitola, Scotts Valley, Saratoga; Towns of Portola, Los Gatos, Woodside. 

What does this mean for our wineries and growers?

*	Wineries within the WID boundaries will now contribute to regional marketing and promotion efforts through an assessment on DTC sales rather than SCMWA membership dues. 
*	Wineries outside the WID boundaries will continue as members of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association as they always have, with no changes to their participation or benefits.
*	Growers that do not make wine are not impacted.


The District boundary roughly (but not exactly) follows the AVA boundary, and all wineries within the WID boundary will be part of the WID and required to pay a 1% assessment on all DTC wine sales (more about this below). If this affects you you will receive notification about this requirement, schedule and payments, to start in 2026. 

All wineries—both inside and outside the district—remain valued members of our broader Santa Cruz Mountains wine community. Everyone will continue to have opportunities to engage in SCMWA’s marketing programs, events, and promotional efforts that elevate awareness of our region’s unique character.

 

More about the Wine Improvement District:

The Wine Improvement District will provide a consistent, reliable, and larger pool of funds dedicated solely to growing the visibility, reputation, and sales of wines from our region. While the Association (SCMWA) does important work, it is voluntary and funded by annual dues, which means budgets fluctuate based on membership participation and economic conditions. This limits both the scale and continuity of marketing efforts. The WID will ensure that all wineries that benefit from the region’s wine identity contribute proportionally. This creates both equity (everyone shares the cost) and critical mass (larger, stable funding) to support marketing efforts promoting our wine region. 

The WID will not replace the SCMWA but will operate alongside it, with the same Board of Directors. Funding is accrued with a 1% assessment on all DTC wine sales, which wineries can pay themselves or pass through to consumers. Wineries will no longer pay dues to the Association (SCMWA). This does not effect the VASCM, which will continue with our nominal $50 annual dues. 

Assessments paid through the WID are expected to exceed $400,000 this first year, starting in 2026. These funds will be used for marketing the Santa Cruz Mountains wine region, its wineries, wines and vineyards to promote tourism and sales.  

The County of Santa Cruz will administer the WID and collection of assessments. 

Wine Improvement Districts are legal entities allowed by the State of California, and several wine regions have implemented them, including Temecula, Amador, Santa Barbara and Livermore, raising large funds to market their regions. With the current economic challenges facing the wine industry (including our local wineries) and in order to remain competitive in a changing market, the SCMWA Board decided to pursue the formation of a WID as an alternative fund-raising source to its dues-based membership. 

Through consistent funding the WID ensures continuity, fairness, and stability - preventing outcomes such as the recent dissolution of the Monterey County Vintners and Growers Assn.  The SCMWID is an investment in the continued strength of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. 

If you think you are part of the new district (selling wine DTC) and have questions, please reach out to me and I will see how I can assist. A detailed presentation is available upon request. 

 

Thank you,

- Mary Lindsay

 


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-- 

Ryan Stirm


STiRM Wine Co.
925-330-4422

ryan at stirmwine.com <mailto:ryan at stirmwine.com> 

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-- 


Megan Bell

Margins Wine

www.marginswine.com <http://www.marginswine.com/> 

(925) 413-2654

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