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Wine's safety record
County rate of alcohol-fueled accidents lower than average
Shirley Buchignani pours wine for sisters Sophie, left and Saskia Maarleveld of New York City at Pedroncelli Winery in Geyserville, Tuesday July 20, 2010. Buchignani. president of the Geyserville Chamber of Commerce, has taken several courses in how to spot people who have had too much to drink.
KENT PORTER/ PDPublished: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 4:03 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 4:03 a.m.
If you've been wine tasting enough times, you've probably seen them: The visitors to Sonoma County and its 130 tasting rooms who end up drinking too much while sampling wine.
The widely held concern is that some of them end up behind the wheel, endangering the lives of others on Sonoma County's mostly rural roads.
The deaths of two Cloverdale women killed Sunday in Geyserville by a suspected drunk driver who investigators said had been wine tasting has brought renewed attention to the issue.
Yet, cases of people getting drunk at wineries and then causing accidents that result in death or major injuries are rare, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
"We've found, for the most part, the wine-tasting crowd is very responsible," said Officer Jon Sloat, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.
Still, in the wake of Sunday's accident, winery managers and owners have renewed their commitment to encouraging safe behavior by cutting off guests who appear too intoxicated and promoting groups to designate a sober driver.
"These kind of tragedies, when they happen, make you realize it's never enough," said Kim Stare Wallace, owner of Dry Creek Vineyard. "We have to keep trying harder and harder to make people safe."
Sonoma County had a lower percentage of alcohol-related accidents and deaths between 2004 and 2008 than the median average of other counties in California after taking into account population, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The perception that Wine Country is awash in drivers who have over-imbibed on winery visits does not fit the experience of officers who patrol the roads.
"I think it is a logical connection for people to make. But it doesn't ring true in my experience," said Lt. Kevin Young, who is interim police chief of Healdsburg.
Wine tasters tend to plan ahead and designate a driver, Young said. So while he frequently sees people tipsy after a day of wine tasting, they often are accompanied by a sober companion.
"Otherwise I think you would see more problems," he added.
The driver suspected of causing Sunday's accident had been named the designated driver of her group, but still had a blood alcohol level of .1, according to the CHP.
To reach the .08 level considered driving under the influence, a person weighing under 150 pounds would have to consume about three glasses of wine over three hours, according to the CHP.
Lyndsay Murray-Mazany of San Francisco broadsided another car on Geyserville Avenue on Sunday evening, killing Bev Jones and Sue McBride, both 77 and residents of Cloverdale, according to official reports.
Brenda Frachiseur, a spokeswoman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Sacramento, said that designated drivers need to refrain from drinking.
"A designated driver doesn't mean the one who is least drunk. It is the one who isn't drinking any alcohol," Frachiseur said.
Wineries are taking appropriate actions to prevent alcohol-related accidents, she added.
"The wineries are very active in coalitions and are concerned about the folks who are drinking and driving," Frachiseur said. "They promote responsible drinking."
Beyond their social responsibility to prevent drunk driving, wineries also have a financial responsibility.
Santa Rosa attorney Patrick Emery has sued bar owners, wineries and grocery stores for serving people who drove drunk and killed or injured people.
"The law is very clear. If a licensed seller of alcoholic beverages furnishes alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person, then the seller may be responsible for the consequences," Emery said.
In the Dry Creek Valley, Jim Pedroncelli, whose family owns Pedroncelli Winery & Vineyards, said his tasting room staff will deny anyone who looks like they've had too much too drink. They look for signs such as staggering, having difficulty speaking or other obvious signs of intoxication. But for the most part, the tasting room scene is unlike that of the local bar.
Adrian Maarleveld, who visited Pedroncelli Winery with his wife Tuesday, said he'd only had a small taste of wine, holding his index finger and thumb about an inch apart.
"If you're tasting, you shouldn't drive," he said. After some thought, he added, "If you really taste it, you should spit it out."
Behind the Pedroncelli tasting room counter, Shirley Buchignani poured wine for the Palo Alto couple. Buchignani, who works part-time at Pedroncelli, is also the president of the Geyserville Chamber of Commerce. She said that in the 15 years she's worked in the wine business, she's been forced to cut off fewer than half a dozen people.
Wineries train their staffs on how to handle situations where guests are obviously drunk or pose public safety concerns, and some events even require that designated drivers wear special wrist bands, said Sherri Hewitt, general manager of B.R. Cohn Winery in Sonoma Valley.
Training sessions sometimes include specialists from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the CHP. They advise winery staff on how to spot guests who should be cut off, and how to deal with problem visitors.
A typical training can involve more than 100 employees and last 4 hours, said Beth Costa, executive director of Wine Road, which hosts annual wine tasting events that draw large crowds. The group sponsors annual barrel tastings that have grown so popular that in past years they have spawned complaints about excessive traffic and consumption.
The group works hard to encourage designated drivers, Costa said. Instead of $60 a ticket, designated drivers pay a nominal fee and receive non-alcoholic beverages at participating wineries.
But a growing concern among some winery owners and county officials is that wineries are extending tasting hours beyond the once-standard 4 p.m. and that could lead to people drinking more wine later into the day.
Dick Fogg, Sonoma County planning commissioner for Sonoma Valley, said it was an issue the county needed to examine. Earlier this year, commissioners directed staff to review tasting room hours.
Fogg called the Geyserville crash "tragic," and added that "it probably should give an impetus to reviewing our study on (tasting room) hours."
The CHP investigation of Sunday's accident is ongoing, and details about where and how late Murray-Mazany was served have not been made public.
Supervisors have not moved to set a standard closing time for tasting rooms because issues with traffic and access differ in each case, said Sonoma County Supervisor Valerie Brown.
"You only need one crisis to reopen that discussion," she said. But "making some kind of blanket mandate wouldn't be easy to do."
Staff Writers Kevin McCallum, Martin Espinoza, Brett Wilkison, Derek Moore, and Randi Rossmann contributed to this article. Staff Researcher Janet Balicki contributed to this article. You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 703-1577 or nathan.halverson@pressdemocrat.com.
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