Young Wine Tasters Get Out of Hand in Sonoma County

Wineries call Police on Rowdy Revelers

Sonoma County's wine tasters seem to be getting younger, and for some wineries ... that's causing a problem.

According to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, last weekend's Wine Road Barrel-Tasting saw an influx of young tasters, many of which had too much to drink. At least two limo buses had to be escorted out of wineries by CHP officers because the groups were getting too rowdy.

Several vintners say they noticed a big shift in the age of tasters last weekend, particularly on Saturday. At Healdsburg's Armida Winery, the age group was 21 to 30, with most under 25. The winery says it lost business because serious wine buyers were turned off by the traffic.

Organizers say overall, though, the weekend was successful, and the incidents won't prompt any changes.

There are 144 wineries participating in the Barrel-Tasting event and about 70 welcome limos and buses.

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