The stock market has been at record prices recently and tech company IPO’s have been flying off the shelf. With the market continuing to push ahead and new millionaires being created by the likes of Twitter, Barracuda Networks, Google and Facebook my expectation is that we will continue to see the lifestyle buyer looking to wine country for a real estate asset that fits nicely into their portfolio. A place to enjoy, share with their friends and appreciate (pun intended) over time. Thank you stock market, Silicon Valley and Mark Zuckerberg!

Within the wine industry itself, mergers and acquisitions continue with numerous high profile transactions taking place. The wine industry and wine country real estate are strengthened by an improved economy, increasing wine demand, wineries desire to control expenses by acquiring vineyards, and much improved grape prices over the last several years. Even lenders that work within the wine industry are busier than they’ve been in years as new and old players look to leverage assets and grow their business. Appraisers are also extremely busy with most booked out several months if they’re available at all. All positive signs with respect to a region showing that the gears are moving in a positive direction. Thank you number crunchers, appraisers and finance gurus!

Wine continues to attract new consumers and bring more interest to the area. The Gen X and Millennial groups have come to the table, keep in mind, this is the age group that is helping ramp up the energy in Silicon Valley and other areas, and clearly have a spillover effect in wine country. There’s still plenty of room to grow the wine business across new segments, as an example one wine industry financial analyst sees the opportunity to sell 50 million cases of wine into the Hispanic community over the next 20 years. This denotes just one of many relatively untapped markets. Along with continued interest from international buyers, local hot spots in the bay area like the Silicon Valley and San Francisco, and many other domestic buyers throughout the United States. Thank you Gen X, Millennials and untapped markets!

All the elements I mentioned affect the value of land, vineyards, vineyard estates and wineries. But there’s still one thing I haven’t mentioned. We live in an incredibly beautiful, bountiful and special region. There’s no other place in the world like our own back yard. For that I’m thankful to call wine county home and wish you all joy filled holidays and an exciting and prosperous new year!