Those requests define what have been my priorities for the past several years – and what remain my main goals for the future.
This
past week while I was at home in the District for a work period we
reached out to area business in rural, agricultural and urban settings
to help them make the best of the federal and private sector assets that
could be helping them make progress rather than creating obstacles.One of the things I have wondered about since accepting an invitation to become Co-Chair of the Congressional Wine Caucus last year, is whether there is an opportunity for the estimated 250 wineries in the Sacramento Region to place their wines in the burgeoning Asian marketplaces – especially China. To that end we decided to host a forum on the topic: “Is there a China Connection to market Sierra Foothills wine?”
We
know for a fact that a few wineries in El Dorado, Amador and Calaveras
Counties have successfully marketed wines abroad to China, Taiwan and
other locations in the Pacific Rim. And we know there is an emerging
middle class in many Asian countries and a growing desire for the
award-winning wines produced in our region. But, to date, not many of
the nearly 100 wineries I represent in the Third District have known
exactly how to attract that business.So, we assembled a knowledgeable panel on Monday, April 30, in Amador County at the historic Shenandoah Valley Community Center in the heart of that wine region. Representatives of federal agencies that participate in foreign trade and finance, as well as brokers, transportation experts and other representatives of the California wine industry presented detailed information about how to get in the game should any vintners so desire.
The
principals of more than a dozen wineries, several exporters and other
interested parties took copious notes, networked and thanked us for
bringing all the stakeholders together. Only time will tell if this
forum bears fruit in the form of new markets, opportunities and the
aforementioned goal of creating jobs. But this is what our job is in
these times – to assist in helping to create jobs, or at least remove
obstacles.
Later
that day we toured Amador County’s new Lincoln Project Mine, a revived
gold mine, which will create 110 jobs in the area thanks to the
investment and tenacity of Sutter Gold Mining, Inc. Those jobs are a
huge factor for Amador County, which has struggled with unemployment
rates at the 15 percent level recently.We were happy to have assisted the mine project by facilitating communication between it and federal agencies when regulations threatened to stall progress.
My conversations with members of the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce later in the week inspired me. There is a head-down, full-speed-ahead attitude I will take back to Washington and use as a focus to continue my work on your behalf.
Sincerely,
Daniel E. Lungren
