Fred Cline steps down as CEO from family’s Sonoma winery

Fred Cline, founder of Cline Family Cellars, has stepped down from his leadership position of almost 40 years and has appointed industry veteran John Grant as the new chief executive officer of the Sonoma winery.

The change — which went into effect on July 20 and was announced on Thursday — will allow Cline to focus on the long-term vision of the winery known for its top-selling zinfandels.

“In the last year, my wife Nancy and I began looking towards the future, and at what the next 38 years at Cline will bring. We knew that to propel the business further into success and to grow, we needed a different type of focused leadership,” Cline said in a statement.

The winery was established in 1982 in Oakley and seven years later was able to grow when the Clines purchased a 350-acre horse farm in Carneros and moved the winery to Sonoma County, allowing for more vineyards and branching more into popular varietals such pinot noir and chardonnay.

Grant comes to Cline after serving as CEO at Hess Family Wine Estates since 2014. He also has broader industry experience working at Treasury Wine Estates, Constellation Wines Australia and Kendall-Jackson.

“I look forward to building upon this foundation, working with them and the next generation of Cline family. Together we will strengthen the portfolio, tighten ways of working and position the business for future generations,” Grant said in a statement.

Top agricultural groups oppose Prop. 15

Top state agricultural groups have announced their opposition to Proposition 15, which would rewrite the rules on commercial property taxes in place since the passage of Proposition 13 more than 40 years ago.

The California Farm Bureau, Western Growers and the Agricultural Council of California have formed a new coalition against the measure, which is supported by groups like organized labor who contend it would bring billions of dollars of new revenue into the state for schools.

The coalition is attempting to turn the focus of the debate from wealthy corporations who would pay more in state taxes to the impact on family-owned farms. Under the ballot measure, properties valued at $3 million would be exempted for new tax hikes.

“Prop. 15 does not exempt agriculture — it hikes taxes on fruit trees, nut trees, grape vines, dairies, irrigation equipment, barns and much more,” said Jamie Johansson, president of California Farm Bureau, in a statement. “California’s family farmers were hit hard by the current COVID-19 crisis. Prop. 15’s tax hike on our livelihoods is the last thing we need.”

Wine Institute calls for end on wine tariffs

The Wine Institute urged the U.S. Trade Representative on Friday to end all retaliatory tariffs on wine, calling for an end to a long-running dispute between the United States and the European Union over aircraft subsidies.

The U.S. placed a 25% tariff on bottled wine imports from France, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom in October and is considering further increases, according to the Wine Institute, the California wine industry’s leading trade organization. The EU has stated that it intends to retaliate against U.S. wine when authorized to do so by the World Trade Organization.

“We fully support USTR’s efforts to enforce trade rules and ensure a level playing field for all industries,” Bobby Koch, president and CEO of Wine Institute said in a statement. “But this dispute has absolutely nothing to do with wine and these tariffs are hurting the wine sector, including distributors, retailers and other industry partners, when we are all struggling to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.”

The EU is the largest export market for U.S. wines, with exports totaling $427 million in 2019.

Compiled by Bill Swindell. Submit items to bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com.