(SACRAMENTO, CA)  Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Wine, introduced legislation yesterday to help California’s wine industry educate consumers and market its wines in an increasingly competitive business environment.

“Our wine industry needs the ability to educate consumers and wine retailers about the unique attributes of California wine,” said Evans.  “With consumer tastes evolving, winetastings and trade shows are effective tools for wine education and marketing.  But our arcane and outdated liquor laws hinder their potential.  California is the capital of our nation’s wine industry.  That is why our nation’s largest wine trade show is organized here.  My legislation will enable it and others focused on specific regions to more effectively promote our wine industry.”

Sponsored by the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) and co-authored by Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa), Assembly Bill (AB) 2090 creates a new special temporary on-sale wine license for winegrape commissions, regional winegrape grower associations, and professional organizations in the field of enology and viticulture.  The license allows these organizations to sell wine at winetasting events designed to promote a particular agricultural region or as part of a class, seminar or other educational event.

“Wine is made in the vineyard,” added Evans.  “That’s why it is important to promote different wine producing regions and the innovative tools used by vintners to make wines from different grapes.”

“There is no question that wonderful wines are being made in more places than ever in California,” said Wiggins, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on California’s Wine Industry.  “We know that a Pinot Noir grown and produced in Santa Barbara, for instance, is going to have different qualities than a Pinot Noir grown and produced in Carneros.  Winemakers deservedly receive much of the credit for the products that appear in bottle, but growers are just as responsible for California’s well-earned reputation for being one of the world’s premier wine-growing regions.  Mother Nature plays a role, too, offering us a sense of the places from which these wines emerge.”

AB 2090 also allows vendors who supply products and services to the wine industry – such as wine barrel makers or retailers - to conduct winetastings at an industry trade show or convention in order to demonstrate the effect of their products on wine flavor and production.

“Growers need to work with the industry to promote the unique soils, micro-climates, and varietals of their regions to remain competitive,” said Karen Ross, President of CAWG.  “The rapid globalization of the wine business makes it important for growers to differentiate the wines made from their grapes.”

California’s wine industry contributes more than $51 billion to the state’s economy annually.  Winegrapes are grown in 47 of California’s 58 counties on 527,000 acres.  California wine producing regions include over 100 American Viticultural Areas, each with variances in climate, soil structure, and topography.