Napa grower honored

Jim Regusci was named Napa Valley Grapegrowers’ 2026 Grower of the Year on April 22, putting one of Napa’s biggest vineyard operators at the center of the valley’s spring awards season. (wineindustryadvisor.com) The trade group gives the award each year to a Napa Valley vineyard owner or manager it says shows leadership and innovation in grape growing. Napa Valley Grapegrowers plans to present the 2026 honor at its 51st Annual Celebration on May 8. (napagrowers.org 1) (napagrowers.org 2) Regusci built his business from one truck at age 19 into an operation that farms more than 2,000 acres and employs 175 people, according to the award announcement. His company now works across Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties. (wineindustryadvisor.com) (reguscivm.com) In Napa, “grower” means the people who plant, prune, irrigate and harvest the vineyards that feed the wine business. Napa Valley Grapegrowers says it represents more than 600 growers and related businesses throughout Napa County. (reguscivm.com) (wineindustryadvisor.com) The award lands as Napa growers are dealing with a tougher business climate than the valley’s luxury image suggests. Napa Valley Grapegrowers said in January that the wine market is in “structural change,” not a short downturn, and urged growers to focus on budgeting and winery partnerships. (napagrowers.org) The group is also pushing harder on policy this year. On April 14, Napa Valley Grapegrowers joined three other agriculture and wine organizations in asking county supervisors for permitting reform and stronger long-term land-use protections for agriculture. (wineindustryadvisor.com) That work sits alongside its education and research agenda. This spring alone, the organization promoted a resident vineyard tour program in April and a field day on grapevine red blotch virus, a disease that can reduce fruit quality and vineyard value. (wineindustryadvisor.com 1) (wineindustryadvisor.com 2) Regusci’s name also carries weight because his family is tied to one of Napa’s older ranch properties. Regusci Winery says the family’s farming history in Stags Leap runs back more than a century, and the ranch includes a pre-Prohibition “ghost winery” site. (regusciwinery.com) Napa Valley Grapegrowers says agriculture generates more than $11.7 billion in economic benefit for Napa County and supports nearly 72 percent of the local workforce. In that setting, honoring a vineyard operator is also a way of spotlighting the labor and land management behind the bottle. (napagrowers.org)