On a Saturday afternoon in late July, Kevin Kipper strolled leisurely through the tasting room of a St. Helena winery.

It was hot, he was thirsty and he wanted a spot at the crowded bar. Kipper, a Chicago native who works as a pilot, came to Napa on a business trip. A former cop, Kipper said he is acutely aware of the amount of wine it takes for him to be drunk.

“I’d say about two glasses of wine within an hour,” he said.

Kipper said he planned to eat a big meal after drinking in order to avoid being over the legal limit — a blood-alcohol level of .08. He’s part of a growing number of out-of-county residents who are carefully navigating the valley’s highways and byways without risking a DUI.

Nonetheless, a significant portion of those convicted in Napa County of driving under the influence, or the lesser charge of reckless driving while intoxicated, are from out of town.

From Dec. 2004 to Dec. 2005, Napa courts convicted 1,066 individuals of DUI or what criminal court attorneys call “wet reckless” charges, according to Napa County Superior Court records.

Of those convicted, a solid majority — 70 percent, or 744 drivers — were locals. Another 322 — or 30 percent — were not from Napa County.

Among the out-of-towners, 152 people, or about 14 percent of the total convicted, live in neighboring Solano, Sonoma or Lake counties. The remaining 170 people, 16 percent of the total, were from remote counties, other states or other countries.

Does wine-related tourism boost the number of DUIs in Napa County? Not significantly, according to law enforcement officials and others looking at this issue. Their views are corroborated by some law enforcement officials from neighboring counties.

California Highway Patrol Officer Jerry Rico said he doesn’t believe Napa’s wine country fame significantly increases the number of tourist-related DUI arrests in Napa County.

“We get our share” of wine-related arrests, he said, “but one thing about Napa is that (wineries) charge to taste.”

Free alcohol would encourage more reckless behavior, he said. Meanwhile, people who pay $10 or $15 per person for a modest amount of wine are less likely to overindulge.

Wine industry officials say tasting room hosts are trained to stop potential problems before they start.

In nearby counties, officials report a similar number of out-of-towners get nailed.

Barry Borden, the chief deputy district attorney in Marin County, offered statistics similar to Napa’s.

The figures Borden reported were for those who are merely charged with driving under the influence, while the Napa County stats cited above are for those convicted of DUI or “wet reckless.”

In Marin County, from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, 1,396 people were charged with driving under the influence. Of those, 995 charges, or 68 percent, involved locals. Out-of-towners accounted for 441 charges, or 32 percent.

Lake County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jon Hopkins said the Napa numbers sound pretty consistent with what he sees in his own county.

He noted that Lake County doesn’t have nearly a many tasting rooms as does Napa, but pointed out the county has three Indian casinos, one of the best bass-fishing lakes in the country and the popular Konocti Resort, which draws big-name rock and country music acts.

“I do notice a fair number of our people charged are from outside of Lake County,” said Hopkins, who is district attorney-elect. “I wouldn’t be the least surprised if we were close to Napa.”

Not behind the wheel

Law enforcement officials say tourists who come to taste are pretty savvy about staying off the road, and local wine industry officials say they take pains to make sure tasting room pourers and others in contact with visitors know how to prevent problems.

City of Napa Police Chief Richard Melton said that most tourists avoid DUIs by planning not to be behind the wheel.

“A lot of people that come here as tourists, they have limos and busses,” Melton said.

For visitors such as Connie Wagner, of Bozeman, Mont., the mere mention of wine country sets off a warning not to take a chance. Then again, Wagner has known about the dangers of drinking and driving all her life.

“My father was a California Highway Patrolman,” she said. “(Not drinking and driving) has always been in our upbringing.”

During Wagner’s summer visit to Napa Valley, she appointed herself designated driver during the day so that her husband could do some wine tasting and not have to worry about seeing flashing lights in the rear-view mirror. She said her husband would return the favor later in the evening, as she planned to savor some wine at a barbecue.

Navigating the wine country

“There’s an old saying in Napa: ‘Come to Napa on vacation — leave on probation,’” said Michael Graham, owner of Napa Valley Tours and Transportation, a local limousine service.

Graham’s outfit is one of many that specialize in offering wine tours in and around Napa. Although limousine rides aren’t cheap, costing $400 or more for a five-hour ride, Graham said they save people thousands of dollars of costs related to DUIs — court costs, attorneys fees, penalties, getting autos back from tow companies and losses associated with getting one’s driver’s license suspended.

“If you got eight people ... it’s only $10 an hour per person. To prevent getting a DUI at $10 per person, it’s very cost effective,” Graham said.

Peace of mind is included in the price.

“They want to be able to move around the valley comfortably without worrying about DUIs, without worrying about getting lost,” said Thomas Cilluffo, owner of Napa Valley Limousine Services Inc.

Cilluffo said his company does between 280 and 350 wine tours annually and that 90 percent of his clientele comes from out of town. About 10 percent, he said, is from out of the country.

Getting convicted far from home

Many tourists who get charged with a DUI in Napa Valley find that they will return soon, but not on a vacation, and their destination will be the criminal courthouse on Third Street in Napa.

“There is really no procedure for transferring a prosecution of a case (outside of Napa County),” said Ron Abernethy, Napa County chief deputy public defender. “After you have been convicted and placed on probation, there are procedures for transferring probation to the county that you live in.”

Abernethy said that DUI cases are usually wrapped up within two court dates.

But the farther a person lives from Napa, the tougher it is on them to return to court.

“It takes time away from work or family,” he said. “Instead of spending a morning in court, you spend a day.”

Veteran Napa criminal defense attorney Merv Lernhart helps defend those accused of DUI, and said that about 40 percent of his DUI clients are from out of town.

“For first offenses, in general, the defendant can do community service in his home state,” he said. “They are also ordered to do an equivalent to the California Drinking and Driving Program.”

Hospitality workers, vintners keep watch

At most wineries throughout the valley, tasting room pourers are trained to spot people who’ve had too much to drink. Wine Hospitality Organization is a Napa-based hospitality group that trains pourers to watch for the signs of inebriation.

Leslie Burma, the group’s public relations spokeswoman, said some of those signs include slurred speech, loud speech, stumbling and drinking too fast.

“If anybody has just the slight bit of (the signs), we don’t serve them (and) we make sure they aren’t driving,” she said.

Jeri Hansen-Gill, public affairs manager for the Napa Valley Vintners, said her organization has worked for years with the Napa County Department of Health and Human Services to teach tasting room workers — as well as restaurant employees and others in the hospitality industry — how to stop people from overindulging and how to deal with it if they do.

Two or three times a year, NVV hosts a seminar at a Napa Valley winery to teach people about the subject. Hansen-Gill said that several of the larger wineries, including Sutter Home, Mondavi an Beringer, hold their own training sessions.

The sessions, she said, focus on making sure workers are up to date on everything from recognizing a valid identification card and a tipsy person to successful techniques to keep inebriated visitors from getting behind the wheel. Visitors also get training on the latest state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control regulations.

She said a key component is learning how to handle guests appropriately.

“We are in the hospitality industry, and because other guests are around, we need to know how to handle these people with dignity, but make it clear that the environment should be safe.”

Hansen-Gill emphasized that preventing driving under the influence is an economic issue for her organization’s nearly 300 member wineries, because liability risks could cut into profits and the winery’s reputation.

She said the organization also trains volunteers in advance of the annual gala, Auction Napa Valley, even though the globe-trotting guests who come to bid on rare wines don’t quite drive to the event: They park and take shuttles to the Meadowood resort.

“Even though we put guests on a shuttle, we want them to enjoy responsibly and for everyone to feel good,” said Hansen-Gill.

That’s a common goal in the valley, according to Randy Snowden.

Snowden has an unusual perspective on the issue.

He is part-owner of Snowden Vineyards, a small operation near St. Helena.

He is also the director of the Napa County Department of Health and Human Services, which runs a number of alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs.

He has dedicated much of his professional life to helping people beat drug and alcohol dependencies, and is a voice within the winemaking community for responsible industry conduct.

“I have my day job. I’m also a member of the (Napa Valley) Vintners and (Napa Valley) Grape Growers,” he said. “I very much have a foot in both sides of the door.

“I think that if you visited some tasting rooms that you would find information and advisories on the risks associated with DUIs,” he said. “The wine industry has taken a proactive approach in the area of responsible beverage practices.”