Senators vote to make Zinfandel California's 'historic' wine

Good to know they’ve got enough time on their hands up there in Sacramento to tackle the big issues. ;)

Senators vote to make Zinfandel California’s ‘historic’ wine

SACRAMENTO (AP) — State senators voted to make zinfandel California’s official historic wine Thursday, despite sour grapes by some lawmakers who nearly defeated the purely symbolic legislation.

Zinfandel grapes date back to the state’s Gold Rush days and are found in each wine region of California, the only place in the world where they are widely grown.

Naturally, this being politics, there is controversy. Originally, they wanted to make it the official state wine, but…

Growers who favor other grapes objected to the designation. Zinfandel has faded from its historic dominance across the state, accounting for about 10 percent of California wines last year. It lagged behind both cabernet sauvignon (12.5 percent) and chardonnay (17 percent).

Migden said she was willing to amend her bill, if necessary, to declare zinfandel “an” historic wine instead of “the” historic wine. But in an interview, she said she was perplexed by opposition to a bill she said would bring favorable publicity to the entire California wine industry.

Ah, well, I guess they don’t really have much to do up in Sacto once the cows are milked and Pa’s done with the whittlin’. ;D