Although there is no shortage of capital entering Napa, or businesses thriving in the corporate sector, family-owned grower-producers are swimming upstream to keep their businesses afloat. These multi-generational farmers and winemakers cannot remain economically viable without access to direct-to-consumer sales, namely in the form of tastings on their vineyard sites.

For Hannah and Dylan Rahn, growing grapes is all they have ever known as their father has been working in vineyards since they were very young. Several years later, their father would purchase 20 acres in Angwin, located in the Napa Valley. He designed and planted about 4 and half acres of vineyard, which is now Rahn Estate. 

As the pandemic continues to hinder small businesses, wineries in Napa County find themselves at a crossroad where sales are being severely impacted by Napa's land development restrictions, which has some of the most stringent statewide thresholds a winery must meet in order to develop an on-site production facility.

In 2015, Paul Maroon helped form the Save the Family Farms initiative with the focus on preserving the Napa Valley’s small family vineyards, which are the backbone of the agricultural history of the region.  The key driver behind this is  to ensure that small producers can remain viable and competitive for future generations to come.