Yountville launches entertainment zone

New at 10, the town of Yountville is taking a page from some larger city's playbooks, creating an entertainment zone in an effort to draw more visitors to the area. People can now drink on the streets through the town's main corridor. KTVU's Tom Vacar was up there and joins us live now from Yountville. Tom, tell us, how has this been for business? Well, I'll tell you, what they're doing here is they're looking for, in wine country, new generations of wine lovers. And in order to do that, they're making new products and also new approaches, amongst them wine strolls. Sip Yountville is a day and evening stroll in Yountville's new entertainment zone, Napa Valley's first open container district. No entry fee and any guest 21 and over can buy and carry any alcohol beverage within the zone. Every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Washington and two side streets, full with tasting rooms, restaurants, bars, and retailers are in the zone. Locals we met say it's a good idea come to life. Especially in a time when we are trying to remind people that Napa's still here and tourism is really important to us, that this is exactly what the town needs. Coming to a town like Yountville, you're actually walking around, there's art galleries, there's shops, there's garden shops. There's a ton of art everywhere you look. Wine is just like approachable to everyone. So I think it's really nice that Yountville is making the effort to be like, oh hey, you can be taking like a cup to go, because wine is fun. Unlike urban entertainment zones, which are pretty much buttoned down and cordoned off, this is open streets. You can walk up and down both sides of the streets, do whatever you want, and if you have a drink in your hand, it is perfectly legal. Open containers in the form of sanctioned plastic cups only turn ordinary sidewalks, byways, plazas, and streets into social spaces. It provides non-resident visitors with a warm, welcoming, relaxed rural atmosphere seven days a week. Merchants love it because it's working, especially in the many tasting rooms. We get to show off our wines, and it's not just restricted in our tasting room. It gives a little bit more flexibility for the guests to have more free range to just enjoy their day and not be restricted to one location. We've seen a noticeable uptick in sales of wines by the glass. Being able to just take the wine and walking around appreciating all that Yountville has to offer is a really great experience, and a lot of people seem to really resonate with that. People are coming in and asking to sip and stroll through Yountville. Each and every day, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and it is starting to catch on. We'll see how it goes, and that's why I say some other downtowns that need help may consider doing something very much like this. Tom Bakar, KTVU, Fox 2 News.