"Chainsaw chardonnay"

Wines & Vines, March, 2004

The most eye-popping display at this year's Unified Symposium may have been the protest staged outside the Sacramento Convention Center opposing the California Department of Forestry's approval of vineyard conversions in Sonoma County's coastal forests. Two activists from the Coastal Forest Alliance and Town Hall Coalition staged the protest, which involved an 8-foot-tall wine bottle (or a guy dressed as one) threatening a couple of fake redwood trees with a chainsaw. Though they acknowledged that wine industry folks are generally an environmentally responsible bunch, the protesters blamed Artesa winery in particular for making plans to clear 105 acres of redwood and conifer forest in Sonoma County to make way for vineyards.

According to Artesa president Michael Kenton, the winery has made every attempt to maintain an ongoing dialog with the opposing organizations and address their concerns. "We've done all the environmental studies and we haven't found anything that would negatively impact the area." Despite these efforts, Kenton says, the activists are unwilling to compromise. "They don't want to see a single tree touched."