Castro Valley Winery to Government: Crush Grapes, Not Vintners
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on September 22nd, 2014 11:08 pm by HL
Castro Valley Winery to Government: Crush Grapes, Not Vintners
Debra Saunders, RealClearPolitics
“You’ll never meet anyone who says, ‘I want to be a millionaire. I think I’ll start a winery,'” owner Bill Smyth tells me from his small office over the tasting room of Westover Vineyards, nestled in Palomares Canyon. Smyth has worked in a number of fields. He made some money. He bought the vineyard property when he was young. His ex-wife bought him a kit to make wine, and his labor of love turned into a small business. Now, thanks to heavy-handed California regulators, he’s selling off his ports and boutique wines and turning his winery back into a home. In July, California Department of…