Larner Winery forced to do environmental impact report (US)

Bad weather is usually the worst thing that vintners have to worry about in Santa Barbara County, but a decision last week to require full-scale environmental review for a proposed winery in Ballard Canyon is making some wonder whether the county’s planning department is putting a cork in the growth of the Santa Ynez Valley’s wine industry. So says vintner Michael Larner, whose plans for a winery on his 134-acre property — already home to some of the most coveted Grenache and Syrah vineyards in the state — were thwarted on December 3 when the county’s long range planning director Jeff Hunt determined that, due largely to the 20 special events proposed each year and a number of vocal opponents, the winery should produce an environmental impact report.