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SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown has proclaimed September 2011 as California Wine Month, the seventh consecutive year the state has recognized the contributions of the state's growers and vintners by proclamation.
To celebrate, many of the Golden State's wineries, winegrape growers and regional associations are hosting special consumer wine events.
"As an industry, California wine brings innumerable benefits to the state. Our scenic and historic wine-growing regions, a renowned cuisine based on food and wine pairings, and the opportunity to taste and purchase our world-famous wines bring an estimated 20.7 million tourists to our state each year," said Governor Brown in the proclamation. "Our state's wineries create jobs for 330,000 Californians and revenue from retail sales of $18.4 billion, including $1.14 billion in exports sales to 122 countries."
To view the complete proclamation, go to www.discovercaliforniawine.com/learn/governors-proclamation.
From special tastings and harvest tours, to wine education classes and wine and food festivals, consumers can take in many celebration events throughout California.
To find the latest events this September, go to www.discovercaliforniawine.com/learn/september-winery-events and visit the site regularly to check the 50 events to date in a growing list of wine happenings.
Some major multi-region and multi-winery events occur during California Wine Month, which coincides with the launch of harvest season.
On Labor Day weekend, Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, named one of the 10 Best Wine & Food Events in the U.S. (Celebrated Living),will feature more than 170 award winning wineries and 60 chefs showcasing their talents at Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Ranch, as well as a wine auction, seminars, cooking demonstrations, vineyard tours and parties at other wineries.
Also that weekend is Livermore's 30th Annual Harvest Wine Celebration, where complimentary shuttle buses take guests to more than 40 Livermore Valley wineries sharing their finest wines, as well as local music, art and food.
Other highlights include CRUSH: Temecula Valley 2nd Annual Wine & Culinary Showcase, a multi-winery harvest festival with wine, food and live music on Sept. 10, as well as the availability of passport savings to five wineries anytime during the month.
On Sept. 16, Madera Vintners Association's California Wine Month Reception & Wine Tasting will feature area wineries offering wine and food at Birdstone Winery on Sept. 16 in Madera, and Pinotfest Monterey is a Monterey beach party and charity auction with live music, food and wine that will showcase several wineries.
On Sept. 17, more than 20 Santa Barbara area wineries are holding a Cabernet Franc wine tasting with live music, appetizers and a seminar at FrancFest at Buttonwood Farm Winery in Solvang.
Also on Sept. 17, California Wine Rush, a walk-around tasting showcasing top wines from more than a dozen California wine regions throughout the state will take place in San Francisco in the Grand Hall of the historic Ferry Building during the lively Saturday farmer's market.
Savor the Central Coast 2011, presented by Sunset Magazine and the San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau, will feature a grand tasting with 200-plus wineries, wine seminars, winemaker dinners and other culinary adventures during this four-day experience Sept. 29-Oct. 2.
California is home to more than 4,600 grape growers and 3,400 bonded wineries, its fertile land accounting for approximately 90 percent of wine production in the United States.
Gov. Brown's proclamation highlights how the California wine community's commitment to economic and environmental sustainability reflects its intention to remain in operation for many generations to come and to "preserve the land and human capital that make possible the continuing bounty of California wine."
California has a widely adopted sustainable winegrowing and winemaking program with participation by vineyards and wineries in all of the regions hosting California Wine Month events.
California Wine Month, established and coordinated by Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers, is also supported by several hotel, restaurant, retail and association partners.
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The Lake One-Stop attained a 100 percent customer satisfaction rating of good to excellent for all topics including helpful and knowledgeable employees, answering customer questions, services being helpful to employment goals, customer service and overall experience.
Surveys were submitted from November 2010 to July 2011.
The Lake One-Stop is part of America’s One-Stop Career Center System that establishes partnerships between business and job seeker programs
Lake One-Stop is located in Lakeport at 55 First St., telephone 707-263-0630, and in Clearlake at 4477 Moss Ave, telephone 707-994-0633. Information also is available online at www.lakeonestop.org.
The Lakeport One-Stop includes the Employment Development Department, California Human Development, Goodwill Industries, Experience Works, Department of Rehabilitation as well as the Lake One-Stop Inc.
The Workforce Investment Act program funded by the Napa/Lake Workforce Investment Board.
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Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Jack Buckhorn, 56, of Hidden Valley Lake, to the California Apprenticeship Council, according to a statement from the Governor's Office.
Buckhorn has been a business manager at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 551 since 2004 and was a business agent from 1998 to 2001.
He worked as a journeyman electrician from 2001 to 2004 for multiple contractors including Kaiser Foundation Hospital and Contra Costa Electric.
Buckhorn was a training director at Redwood Empire Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee from 1989 to 1998.
This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem.
Buckhorn is a Democrat.
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The August edition of the Economic Perspective, produced by BOE research staff, further documents that less than 1 percent of Californians currently report use tax on their income tax returns and shows that use tax payments are heavily concentrated in high income households, with these payments varying significantly according to both household income group and geography.
Use tax is owed when a consumer makes a purchase from an out-of-state retailer who does not collect California tax. It was established to eliminate the price advantage out-of-state retailers would have over California businesses that collect and send sales tax to the BOE.
When the out-of-state retailer does not collect the tax, the consumer is responsible to make the use tax payment directly to the state.
Since 2004, consumers have had the option of reporting and paying their use tax due by completing a line on their state income tax form.
“The use tax line is an important tool for voluntary use tax compliance,” Board Member Betty T. Yee said. “Meanwhile, the low rate of consumer compliance overall points to the need to pursue multiple efforts to promote use tax compliance so that all retail purchases – from both online and store front retailers – are treated on an equal basis.”
A convenient way for individuals to pay use taxes is to report their liabilities on the line provided on personal income tax forms. Data from the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) indicate that California households paid about $10.4 million in use tax payments on their personal income tax returns related to calendar year 2009 liabilities.
Board of Equalization research staff tabulated these data for the state as a whole and for the ten most populous counties in the state by income class for four broad income classes.
The statewide data indicate that:
About 0.42 percent of taxpayers reporting any adjusted gross income (AGI) made use tax payments on their income tax forms.
A larger percentage of relatively high income taxpayers reported use tax payments than did low income households. A little over one percent (1.12 percent) of California taxpayers with AGI over $100,000 reported use taxes, while 0.15 percent of households with AGI less than $30,000 reported use taxes.
Use tax payments averaged $170 per household.
High income households (AGI over $100,000) averaged the highest use tax payments, $311 per household. Low income households (AGI less than $30,000) averaged use tax payments of $76 per household. The lowest average use tax payments were made by households with AGI between $30,000 and $60,000, an average of $70.
High income households (AGI over $100,000) accounted for 40 percent of all households reporting use taxes. These high income taxpayers paid 73 percent of all use taxes reported on personal income tax returns.
Data for the ten most populous counties indicate that:
Percentages of taxpayers with AGI making use tax payments varied from a low of 0.19 percent for both San Bernardino and Riverside counties to a high of 1.03 percent for Santa Clara County. As mentioned earlier, the statewide average was 0.42 percent.
The statewide pattern of greater percentages of high income taxpayers making use tax payments generally held for these counties, with little variation in county rankings.
Use tax payments per household ranged from a low of $77 in San Diego County to a high of $579 in Contra Costa County. Average use tax payments in Fresno and San Bernardino counties were $79, very close to those of San Diego County. (The statewide average was $170 per household.)
High income households (AGI over $100,000) averaged the highest use tax payments in Contra Costa County, $1,180 per household. The second highest reporting for this group was Los Angeles County, $650 per household. The lowest average use tax reported for high income households was Sacramento County, at $91 per household. Fresno County was very close to Sacramento County, averaging $93 per household. (The statewide average for high income households was $311 per household.)
The Economic Perspective newsletter is a quarterly publication produced by the BOE that looks at economic factors of interest or that influence California economic activity.
Board Member Betty T. Yee was elected to her post in November 2006. Her district includes many of California's coastal counties, from Del Norte to Santa Barbara, and includes the entire San Francisco Bay Area.
The five-member California State Board of Equalization (BOE) is a publicly elected tax board. The BOE collects more than $50 billion annually in taxes and fees supporting state and local government services. It hears business tax appeals, acts as the appellate body for franchise and personal income tax appeals, and serves a significant role in the assessment and administration of property taxes.
For more information on other taxes and fees in California, visit www.taxes.ca.gov.