In case you were evacuated during the #cawildfires, please visit the CA Department of Insurance for a note about reimbursement. Link below

Wildfire victims could tap insurance for evacuation cost reimbursement

California Wildfires: Ways to Help

What a horrific few days we are going through.  Monday morning I got my first news report of the wildfires ravaging the Northern California wine country.  A couple of days have gone by, but the very real threat of disaster has not.  Wanting to help out,  I've learned a lot about what we can do to offer assistance and support to the victims of the fires and to those helping fight the fires and assisting evacuees.

I started by asking my CalFire Chief neighbor.  He recommended checking with Red Cross and local faith based charities near the evacuation areas.  The Red Cross is currently asking for donations, which you can give online at www.redcross.org/donate/donation, call 800-RED-CROSS or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.  I also recommend considering giving donations to the Salvation Army, which is supporting many of the evacuation centers,  http://www.salvationarmyusa.org.  

NVCC Donation Board from 10/11/17 around 10:30 AM

Evacuation Centers:  Yesterday I headed to the Solano Community College evacuation center to deliver supplies and volunteer.  They were in good shape with donations, and at this time are only requesting monetary donations.  For more information, please visit the KROC Center Suisun City Facebook page.   This morning a good friend brought needed supplies to the Napa Valley Community College evacuation site.  To find out what needs they currently have, please visit the NV College Facebook page.  They are updating it regularly.  For information for the The Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds Evacuation Center, visit the Office of Emergency Services Facebook Page. Many shelters are in need of Spanish language translators.   If you can translate, please check in with a local evacuation shelter to find out that sites needs.  

Getting Current Information:  With things changing both with the fires and with the needs at evacuation centers, it can be tough to know what to do.  First of all, Petaluma has a google doc which is kept up to date.  For information on needs there, and resources for residents, please visit the google doc here.  

Facebook has been a lifeline to hearing about how friends are doing.  You can keep up to date about the needs of many volunteer organizations there.  

• Visit the Tubbs Fire (Lake/Sonoma/Mendo) Facebook group to get involved in community discussion, find lost pets and offer services, along with the Tubbs Fire Safety Check-inFacebook page, which has a support link. You can post services you have to offer. Search for other community groups on Facebook to open the conversation and get up-to-date needs.
• Visit the Atlas Fire (Napa and Solano Counties) Facebook group for ways to offer and receive help from the community.  
• The Sonoma Humane Society is sharing lost and found pets on its Facebook page. 
• Yesterday I also brought donations so the Solano SPCA, who are accepting donation of pet food and supplies.  Please visit the Solano SPCA Facebook page for current information. 

Fundraising sites:  Knowing we want to make our contributions count and go to the right organizations, please find additional information about ways to help here:

• Many local fundraising efforts are on the GoFundMe pages.  Here is a list of GoFundMe pages dedicated to California fire relief: www.gofundme.com/raise-funds/CAfirerelief.
• Napa Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) has mobilized its Disaster Relief Fund. Make a gift here. 
• The Community Foundation of Sonoma County supports local Sonoma County charities, getting funds where they are needed most, quickly and effectively.  https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1431417

Keeping up the fight:

I haven't nailed down a way to help the firefighters directly, but if you can, I am sure they love a thank you and a hot meal, coffee, cool water, etc.  I know many of the evacuation centers are coordinating catering for the staff.  Check with your local evacuation center for ways to assist. 

Thank you firefighters, volunteers and emergency responders.  And thank YOU for helping out in any way you can.  

Happy Labor Day from WineTalent

Here at WineTalent, we value hard work, and greatly appreciate everyone out there who is contributing to our local, national and global economies.  Labor Day may simply seem like a day off at the beginning of September, but it is a day honoring the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country.

Labor Day became a US federal holiday in 1894.  It symbolizes the end of summer for many of us, and I am looking forward to celebrating it with some time on the water, and with family and friends.

Labor Day may be celebrated by many of us the first Monday of September, but in the wine industry, many production folks don't get the day off.  Mother nature marches to her own drummer, and only she knows when the fruit will be ripe for picking and when the fermentations will start for winemaking.  For all of my friends working over this Labor Day weekend, please know that everyone greatly appreciates all your hard work, and we hope you'll have an opportunity for some rest and relaxation once crush is over.

To everyone out in the wine community, thank you for all of your hard work.

WineTalent Classifieds: Hospitality Manager in St. Helena

WineTalent is working with our confidential client in St. Helena, CA, to find an experienced hospitality professional to lead the hospitality team at the winery.

Job Description:  Situated in the heart of the Napa Valley, WineTalent’s client is seeking a Hospitality Manager to oversee the staff and manage the guest experience at a busy tasting room on the Silverado Trail.   Working with colleagues from the wine club team, the Hospitality Manager will be directing the tasting room, facilitating wine club sign-ups, managing wine sales and overseeing hospitality events.  This position will be managing a team of 10 tasting room personnel as well as a few key hospitality support personnel.

Responsibilities:

• Oversee daily tasting room operations including staffing. 
• Handle outreach to business partners including destination management companies, tour providers and wineries. 
• Manage wine and non-wine sales including shipping, inventory management and providing top-line customer service when necessary.
• Ensure the tasting room is stocked with all necessary items including stemware, wine supplies, retail goods and related items.
• Market winery’s hospitality program within local community, to wine enthusiasts and to business partners. 
• Manage and build VIP and key customer relationships.
• Determine areas where improvement is needed and put systems in place to correct and improve. 
• Manage tasting room within annual company budget and periodically make adjustments to maximize profitability

Qualifications:

• 2 or more years in a hospitality management position within the wine industry. 
• Experience with AMS and Vin65 preferred
• Proven personnel management experience including recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, scheduling, coaching and effectively reviewing performance. 
• Solid DTC sales management experience.
• Understanding of government regulations including compliance and consumer shipping regulations.

All applicants and inquiries will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.   

Winejobs Monthly Hiring Update: Postings up 1% from Last Year

Wineries keep increasing the job postings on winejobs.com, up 1% from the same time in 2016.  Hospitality was the greatest growth of postings from the same time last year, up 19%.  Winemaking postings broke even while sales and marketing job postings were down 27%.  Hmmm--maybe good wines are being made and salespeople are able to sell them, while the desire to push more sales through DTC continues.  For more information, please visit www.winejobs.com.