To all of our Wine Road lodgings and wineries –

We are about to face the one-year anniversary of the devastating fires we faced last year.

It has been a difficult year, trying to put on a positive face in the midst of so many family and friends who lost so much.

Although the wineries themselves were mostly spared and the harvest was nearly complete before the fires, it continues to be a complicated story to tell. As much as we want to say we’re fine, come visit, come buy wine, the fact remains that many in our community are not fine.

With this one-year anniversary, we are all going to see a constant flow of the reminders of the fires, in photos, news reports, conversations and social media. For many among us, this will be like reliving it all over again.

I wanted to pass along some information that I hope you print out and post for all of your staff to see. This is from the Healthcare Foundation Northern Sonoma County. Working with the Wildfire Mental Health Collaborative they are able to offer FREE help for those recovering from the fires.
Drop in counseling
Individual and group counseling (you could offer this at your winery)
There is a FREE app Sonoma Rises
Online wellness and self-assessment MySonomaStrong.com
and more…..including a confidential hot line: 866-960-6264
Please do not assume everyone is okay and that we’ve all just moved on. It is so much more difficult than that.

I also want to remind everyone how important it is for us to manage the headlines and tell our story of resiliency. How we continue to produce amazing wines, our excitement to share the 2017 vintage, the abundance of stunning lodgings for visitors to pamper themselves and how our community is in fact stronger than ever.

Regards,
Beth