Sat Feb 11, 12:28 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - With barely a nod to the cabernets that reign supreme in California's renowned Wine Country, zinfandel is poised to take the throne as the state's official wine.
A bill introduced by state legislator Carol Migden this week would add zinfandel to the host of state icons that include the extinct grizzly bear as state animal and the poppy as state flower.
"California is known all over the world for our superior wines, and the Zinfandel is the quintessential California wine," Migden said. "It's about time that we give it the recognition that it deserves."
Zinfandel wine grapes came to California with the Gold Rush prompted by the discovery of the precious rock at Sutter's Mill in the Sierra Foothills in 1848, according to Migden's office.
"With a cabernet, if you want to find the old vines you can go to France," Migden aide John Vigna told AFP. "If you want to find the old zinfandel vines, you have to come here."
Zinfandel "grew up" in California after the vines were brought here from Europe, according to Migden's office.
The move to make zinfandel the state wine has caused a stir among wine makers who argued it would be better to celebrate all the wine varieties in the state instead of singling one out.
"There are more important things to be concerned about than whether we pick one wine that has been around in the state longer than another," said Joel Butler, one of the first wine masters in the United States.
Butler heads wine education at Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, which owns Beaulieu Vineyards, a Napa Valley winery founded by legendary French wine maker Georges de Latour.
"Zinfandel was the key player for most producers of red wine here, therefore it has an identity unique to California wine," Butler told AFP.
"If you had to choose between it and the more recent arrivals, like French cabernet or chardonnay, to represent the state you'd have to select it."
A few of the original zinfandel vines planted in California are still bearing fruit in the Sierra Foothills, according to Migden. Zinfandel grapes are the second-most harvested grapes in California, behind the Cabernet.
"The grizzly bear is extinct, and that's not bloody likely to happen to zinfandel," Butler quipped.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060211/ts_alt_afp/uswinepolitics_060211172841
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - With barely a nod to the cabernets that reign supreme in California's renowned Wine Country, zinfandel is poised to take the throne as the state's official wine.
A bill introduced by state legislator Carol Migden this week would add zinfandel to the host of state icons that include the extinct grizzly bear as state animal and the poppy as state flower.
"California is known all over the world for our superior wines, and the Zinfandel is the quintessential California wine," Migden said. "It's about time that we give it the recognition that it deserves."
Zinfandel wine grapes came to California with the Gold Rush prompted by the discovery of the precious rock at Sutter's Mill in the Sierra Foothills in 1848, according to Migden's office.
"With a cabernet, if you want to find the old vines you can go to France," Migden aide John Vigna told AFP. "If you want to find the old zinfandel vines, you have to come here."
Zinfandel "grew up" in California after the vines were brought here from Europe, according to Migden's office.
The move to make zinfandel the state wine has caused a stir among wine makers who argued it would be better to celebrate all the wine varieties in the state instead of singling one out.
"There are more important things to be concerned about than whether we pick one wine that has been around in the state longer than another," said Joel Butler, one of the first wine masters in the United States.
Butler heads wine education at Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, which owns Beaulieu Vineyards, a Napa Valley winery founded by legendary French wine maker Georges de Latour.
"Zinfandel was the key player for most producers of red wine here, therefore it has an identity unique to California wine," Butler told AFP.
"If you had to choose between it and the more recent arrivals, like French cabernet or chardonnay, to represent the state you'd have to select it."
A few of the original zinfandel vines planted in California are still bearing fruit in the Sierra Foothills, according to Migden. Zinfandel grapes are the second-most harvested grapes in California, behind the Cabernet.
"The grizzly bear is extinct, and that's not bloody likely to happen to zinfandel," Butler quipped.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060211/ts_alt_afp/uswinepolitics_060211172841