Santa Barbara County’s vintners could soon be getting more help attracting people to their tasting rooms.
The movie Sideways helped shine an international spotlight on Santa Barbara County’s wine region. But, that was 20 years ago, and now many tasting rooms want to give it a new boost.
Santa Barbara County Supervisors are set to consider a proposal Tuesday to create a Wine Improvement District. Wine tasting facilities would pay a new tax of 1% of their gross sales revenues. It would generate an estimated $1.5 million dollars annually to promote wine facilities in the county.
It would apply to all wine facilities in the county. The City of Lompoc initially declined to take part, but reversed its position last week and is now on board with the program. If county supervisors approve the plan, the new tax would take effect April 1, and the wine district would be in place for five years.
Wine has been having a tough time nationally, with a recent study showing that wine sales were down 8% in 2024.
