(Wine- Searcher) - After a tough battle, Liza B. Zimmerman looks at why Napa Valley's agricultural bill didn’t pass.

The last few months were witness to a hard-fought battle between two competing sides, neither of which managed to get their points across very well to local Napa residents.

Since the forward-thinking "Agricultural Preserve" was implemented in the Napa Valley a half century ago – limiting the number of winery visitors restaurants – residents and investors have long sought out other ways and creative strategies to protect an agriculturally fragile iconic wine region that is overflowing with tourists.

This summer, a handful of non-wine industry residents joined hands with some of the best-known, family-run wineries seeking to promote legislation that might have protected some of the region's water sources and oak woodlands. The "No on C" team didn't manage to convey their political platform clearly, shares "Yes on C" campaign founder Jim Wilson, who is also the co-chair of Watershed & Oak Woodland Protection Committee.