and in its products. We can see this in Mark’s perennial and unwavering concerns for this and future generations. “Yolo County has absolutely incredible farms,” said Mark. “The production of fruits, vegetables, everything around here…it’s a wonderful place to grow crops in general. And we thought that it’s also a wonderful place to grow wine grapes, if you did it with a lot of attention to detail on a high-quality wine. We wanted to take that product, and resources from that product, and support things that were important to us: appropriate land use; keep the economic viability of the rural parts of the county so farmers could afford to be farmers.”

Mark adds that new farmers almost cannot afford to be farmers here, as the cost of land is so high with the pressure to build houses on it. He sees vineyards as another viable crop for farmers, which, along with organizations such as the Yolo Land Trust and the Yolo County Resource Conservation District, can help preserve “farming land as farming land, not covering it with concrete. Also we want to be able to support the local community to make it better for our children.”

Rominger West Winery is located at 4602 Second Street in Davis. The tasting room hours are Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., and by appointment and is open for sales: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday. www.romingerwest.com; (530) 747-2044