Congressional Wine Caucus Now Up To 248 House,
Senate Members
May 22, 2002
Washington, D.C. – Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Rep. George Radanovich
(R-CA), co-chairs of the Congressional Wine Caucus, announced today that the
Caucus now has 248 members in the organization.
Founded by Radanovich and Thompson in 1999, the bipartisan caucus now
consists of 18 U.S. Senators and 230 House members. It constitutes one of the
largest caucuses on Capitol Hill.
"In three short years, the bipartisan, bicameral caucus has become an
important forum in Washington, providing information about wine issues to
American vintners and to Members of Congress," said Thompson. "Our growing
membership demonstrates the recognition of the wine industry's growing
importance in America's economy and culture."
CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS URGES REPEAL OF WINERY TAX
-
Special Occupation Tax on Vintners, Retailers
and Wholesalers Called Unfair
May 9, 2002
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
A
bipartisan Congressional coalition is calling for a repeal of the Special
Occupational Tax (SOT). Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Napa Valley) and
Congressman George Radanovich, (R-Mariposa), co-chairs of the Congressional
Wine Caucus, and 36 other caucus members sent a letter this week urging the
House Ways and Means Committee to end the tax.
A
recipe from Rep. Thompson’s grandma
By Rep. Mike Thompson
The Hill
May 8, 2002
Because of the long
history of Italian immigration, risotto is a staple in many California
home kitchens. I grew up in St. Helena, near the northern end of the
Napa Valley.
My Italian maternal
grandparents lived nearby, and once a week during my childhood I went to
their home for dinner. Sometimes I would help my grandmother prepare my
favorite dish, a red-wine risotto flavored with sun-dried tomatoes —
decades before they were trendy.
I learned to make this
dish by watching my grandmother cook it in a cast-iron Dutch oven; she
never wrote down a formal recipe. She used a ladle to add stock, not a
measuring cup, and she judged when the risotto was done by how it
tasted.
THE HILL INTERVIEW - Rep.
George Radanovich
Co-chair of Congressional Wine Caucus owns a
California vineyard
May 8, 2002
Rep. George Radanovich
(R-Calif.), who co-chairs the Congressional Wine Caucus and owns his own
vineyard, spoke with Features Editor Mary Lynn F. Jones recently about how
he started his vineyard, the state of the U.S. wine industry, and about
pairing food with wine. Radanovich and caucus Co-chair Mike Thompson (D-Calif.)
are addressing the European Union this month on trade issues. Excerpts
follow.
Q: How did you get
into the wine-making business?
A: When you think of
California vineyards, you think of Falconcrest and Napa and I’m just
completely the opposite. Our area is in the town of Mariposa in the old
Gold Rush country in the Sierras. There were grapes grown in Mariposa
during the Gold Rush.
Caucus Press Release --
CONGRESSIONAL WINE CAUCUS NOW COVERS ALL 50 STATES -
Bipartisan Effort
Boasts 215 House, Senate Members
April 22, 2002
Washington, D.C.
– Congressmen Mike Thompson (D-CA) and George Radanovich (R-CA),
co-chairs of the Congressional Wine Caucus, announced today that the
caucus now has members from each of the nation's 50 states. The
legislators also reported that caucus membership has grown to a new high
of 215 members.
Founded by Radanovich and Thompson in
1999, the caucus now consists of 18 U.S. Senators and 197 House members.
It constitutes one of the largest caucuses on Capitol Hill.
Raise your glass to the Congressional Wine
Caucus
The Associated Press
April 15, 2002, Monday, BC cycle
By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Washington ... Labels are
everything when this group of lawmakers gets together. Not conservative
and liberal, but cabernet, chardonnay and merlot.
The Congressional Wine Caucus, which numbers 206 representatives and
senators, is among the largest in the Capitol. Well-known wine-producing
states such as California, New York, Oregon and Washington are, of
course, well represented. But so are Michigan, Vermont and Alaska.
Alaska? Sure. The 49th state produces wines from berries, rhubarb and
vegetables.
Congressional Wine Caucus
Raises $300,000 for Charity --
Representatives, Vintners’
Wine Auction Benefits Children’s Hospital
April 4, 2002
Washington, D.C. -- The Congressional Wine
Caucus announced that its annual charity wine auction raised $300,000
for the Children's National Medical Center.
The recent auction and the nine winemaker dinners at
Washington restaurants attracted 300 American vintners, Members of
Congress and supporters of the Washington, D.C. Children's Hospital.
Noted celebrity wine auctioneer Ursula Hermacinski of Napa, California
served as the event’s special host.
U.S. Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA) and Mike
Thompson (D-CA), co-chairmen of the Congressional Wine Caucus, said that
the event’s success was due in large part to the involvement of
winemakers from around the country.
Annual Wine Caucus auction raises funds for children's medical center
Napanews.com
Thursday, April 4, 2002
Register Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The Congressional Wine Caucus' annual charity wine
auction has raised $300,000 for the Children's National Medical Center.
The recent auction and the nine winemaker dinners at Washington
restaurants attracted 300 American vintners, members of Congress and
supporters of the Washington, D.C., Children's Hospital. Popular wine
auctioneer Ursula Hermacinski, of Napa, served as the event's special host
and auctioneer.
Wine Caucus Pushes for Pierce's Disease Funding
March 20, 2002
Washington, DC -- Led by the U.S. Representatives George Radanovich
(R-Mariposa) and Mike Thompson (D-Napa Valley), co-chairs of the
Congressional Wine Caucus, an unprecedented group of Members of Congress
are pushing for additional funding to battle Pierce's disease.
In a letter to the House Agriculture Appropriations
Subcommittee chair and ranking member, 63 House Members representing 12
states are asking for $27.7 million in the FY03 Agriculture
Appropriations bill to fight Pierce’s disease and its vector the
glassy-winged sharpshooter, which continue to pose a major threat to
vineyards in California.
[Read Letter]
Congressional Wine Caucus Joins Worldwide Web
-- Radanovich, Thompson Launch New
Website for Coalition
March 11, 2002
Washington, DC - U.S. Representatives George
Radanovich (R-Mariposa) and Mike Thompson (D-Napa Valley) today
announced the debut of a website highlighting the Congressional Wine
Caucus.
The Congressmen, who founded the Wine Caucus in 1999
and who currently are its chairmen, said that the new website will make
it easier for individuals to learn about the group and its many
activities.
The site, which can be reached via
http://www.house.gov/radanovich or
http://www.house.gov/mthompson by
clicking the “Wine Caucus” icon, describes the history of the Caucus and
includes actions that the representatives have taken on legislative
issues impacting the American wine industry.
Wines & Vines
July 1, 2001
No. 7, Vol. 82; Pg. 17
Scripps Howard News Service
May 15, 2001, Tuesday
BYLINE: MICHAEL DOYLE
California wine
makers build political power
California winemakers are now fortifying their political influence.
With a new foundation, a beefed-up
congressional caucus and a chief lobbyist with impeccable
connections, the winemakers visiting Capitol Hill in record numbers this
week have reason to be giddy.
"What I see is a better understanding by Congress of what our industry is
all about," Dianne Nury, president of the Fresno-based Vie-Del Company,
said Tuesday. "They're being educated." A past president of the San
Francisco-based Wine Institute,
Nury was one of about 75 winery executives and family members to make the
industry's annual Washington trek this week. It was a family affair,
through and through. Nury brought her 10-year-old daughter, a Fort
Washington Elementary School student named Alicia Ruof, and many third or
fourth-generation winemakers are part of the contingent.
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
March 23, 2000, Thursday, Home Edition
Lobbying by wine caucus is vivacious, yet
earnest
Washington, DC: Under the murals on the
ceiling of the Members Room in the Library of Congress, bottled treasures
of a nation had been uncorked: cabernet sauvignon from Georgia, merlot
from Texas, an Ohio ruby port, a North Carolina chardonnay, a Colorado
pinot noir.
Lifting his glass for a toast, Rep. George Radanovich (R-Calif.),
declared, "I've just about made it around the United States."
Radanovich is co-chairman of the
Congressional Wine Caucus, composed of 11 senators and 91 House
members from 28 states. The caucus
was hosting a reception for the American Vintners Association, which
represents the nation's wineries. "We decided to do a
wine caucus because we felt that
a lot of members had a desire to become educated on
wine itself," said Radanovich.
"And also it was a good mechanism to educate other members about the
politics and policies of wine
and the issues that face the wine
industry."