California Wine Country: The Original Wine Trail

It may seem strange that, in less than 100 years from the repeal of prohibition, many state governments seem to be doing what they can to encourage the growth of the beer, wine and spirits industry, but that is exactly what is happening. They are not doing it as a way to promote their state as the next big party destination, however. It is a much more fiduciary interest that they have. Local businesses employ local people and use local services, which generates local tax dollars. Many states have written new legislation to encourage small business, and one of the large growth industries in the small business world is in the world of wine.

In many cases, it was not even necessary to rewrite new laws as much as it was to repeal old laws written to hinder small batch wineries, breweries and distilleries. With these changes made, the landscape was changed, both literally and figuratively as people began to replace old pasture land with new vine plantings.

Of course, the states want to see these businesses be as successful as possible, so they began to look at them not only as manufacturers of a product, but also destinations to be visited. Pictures of vineyards are prominently featured in many travel advertisements for France and Italy, and so state tourism boards thought, "Why not us?" Working together with the new in-state wineries, they began to create "wine trails," mapped out routes that let people know where the wineries are as well as well places to eat and sleep and other attractions that are in the area. This has proved so popular that even in a state as small as Connecticut, there are enough wineries to support two separate wine trails.

While there are certainly compelling reasons to visit different states to see what they are doing, no experience of wine making in the country can compare with the home of the original wine country. It is because of the success of the wines and wineries of California that other states realized the economic potential of winemaking. And while it may certainly be an experience to see a few dozen acres of vines surrounding a modern building where the wine is made, it is something else entirely to be able to see several hundred acres of vines, climbing the hillside, nestled around a 200 year old stone house where people have been making wine for generations.

If a state as small at Connecticut can have two, just think how many wine trails California must have. There are Santa Barbara wineries, the vineyards in Pasa Robles, and of course, the wines from Napa Valley. A person could go every year for the rest of their lives and never walk the same wine trail twice.

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