Nine wine regions join forces to create the Global Artisan Vintners Alliance

Vineyard scene in Livermore Valley, California.

The Global AVA is designed to help the wineries in each region overcome challenges, share best practices and improve the quality of their wines.

They will hold quarterly Zoom meetings and annual in-person conferences, focusing on topics such as agri-tourism, social media marketing and sustainable winemaking.

David Haubert, the District 1 Supervisor of Alameda County in California, came up with the idea. His district includes the Livermore Valley wine region, and he wanted to connect local winemakers with their global counterparts.

He said: ‘Our vision is to create a network of global wine region partners who share the same ideals and values, and who share the same struggles that we all endure, but coming together to trade ideas, tips and tricks, secrets of how we do our business, sharing with our sister wine regions.

‘This alliance will bring great value and innovation, and I’m excited to be part of this trailblazing group of industry leaders.’

Alameda County is home to 1.7 million people in the San Francisco Bay area. It is one of the largest counties in the US, covering the cities of Oakland, Fremont, Hayward and Berkeley in the East Bay.

The county boasts huge tech companies, a renowned hospital and University of California Berkeley, but Haubert calls Livermore Valley ‘the darling of the industries’ in Alameda County.

He said that the first in-person meeting of the Global AVA will take place in the Bay Area in June this year.

‘We’re going to rotate throughout the homes of our partners,’ he said. ‘My hope is that we even encourage cross-border collaboration, maybe visiting winemakers spending a month or two in each other’s regions, or sending staff to learn how winemaking occurs in other parts of the world. We have a great opportunity to share best practices.’

These are the Global AVA’s founding wine regions:

Livermore Valley Wine Community, California
Texas Hill Country Wineries, Texas
Chilecito, Argentina
Dalmatia, Croatia
Chinon, France
Alentejo, Portugal
Vale dos Vinhedos, Brazil
Badacsony, Hungary
Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

Brandi Lombardi, executive director for the Livermore Valley Wine Community, added: ‘As one of the oldest wine regions in California, Livermore Valley has a rich history of winemaking tradition side by side with new winemakers and new techniques.

‘This alliance will allow all partner regions to work together and expand opportunities for their winemakers and wineries as well as enhance tourism to their respective parts of the globe.

‘It makes sense to work together. David’s dream was to connect us across borders, to have Zoom calls and in-person meetings, to share best practices, and to share the challenges and triumphs that we are each having in our respective wine regions.

‘We have had an initial Zoom meeting. It was so informative, and we all gleaned so much from it.’

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