An assortment of news and notes resulting from a few hours of spring cleaning in the editor’s office…
* Wouldn’t it be great if there were a single source of information on Sonoma County’s wineries, restaurants, spas, hotels, recreational activities, shopping and wine events? Well, now, there’s an app for that! It’s called “iVisit Sonoma County,” and it’s now available for download in Apple’s App Store on iTunes.
* If you’re a Zinfandel lover, you need to know about the new organization of Napa Valley Zinfandel producers. The group is offering touring and other information under the banner of the Napa Zinfandel Trail. A list of wineries, maps, events and other information is available on the site: napazintrail.com
* Beer has been the most popular adult beverage in Canada ever since our friends to the north began keeping track of such things. But that is changing. From 1993 to 2009, beer’s market share shrunk from 53% to 46%. And much of the “slack” has been taken up by… you guessed it… wine. Since 1990, dollar sales of red and rose wines have doubled, while dollar sales of white wine have increased by 50%. I guess the Canadians finally figured out what we’ve all known for a long time: Wine will keep you warmer than beer.
* And finally, lawmakers in Oregon are at it again. The state already is one of the most restrictive when it comes to regulating wine sales, and there’s now legislation pending that would effectively end the direct sale of wine to consumers, further concentrating control in the hands of distributors. Maria Ponzi, a member of one of Oregon’s most famous winemaking families, had this to say about the proposed legislation: “I find this bill an embarrassment as well as being extremely destructive to our wineries.” We’ll let you know how things shake out.
