"county" news and stories

While some producers might balk at this legislative change, it is one that will add a little more clarity to the California wine industry. Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill last weekend that prohibits wineries from using "Sonoma" as part of their name unless at least 75% of the grapes used to produce it were grown in Sonoma County. "Sonoma transcends a county name and has become nearly a brand name synonymous with quality wine produced by some of the greatest vintners in the world," Schwarzenegger said. A similar decision was reached last year regarding Napa wines and regulations may eventually be put in place to regulate other wine-growing areas, such as Mendocino County, and restrict the use of those names.

Not too many wines should be affected by the change, but any brands that are out of compliance will have until December 31st, 2008 to change their labels to reflect a non-Sonoma origin. A California appellation will probably be used in place of county references for these wines.

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With the weather starting to warm up (especially down here in Florida), I thought that some help finding u-pick farms would be useful. I've always relied on PickYourOwn.org. They have extensive county-by-county listings for u-pick farms (as well as some other orchards) throughout the U.S. There are also listings for Canada, Australia, the U.K., New Zealand and South Africa. Aside from farms, the site also has listings for regional festivals, mostly those related to fruits and vegetables. Contacting state agriculture departments is another good way to find local u-pick farms. Many ag departments will even have listings on their websites.

[Photo: Sharp Ranch]