farm. We use to have nice open pastures with pretty oak trees now all you see for miles and miles are grape plants in their neat rows all up and down the coast.
I don't drink wine or any alcohol so I don't understand the desire to burn incense to the alter of the grape.

I just drove south on 101 from S.F. to L.A. and saw a lot of oak trees and open pastures.

California's wine industry:

• $61.5 billion in state economic impact

• Creates 330,000 jobs in California; 820,000 jobs nationwide

• Pays $14.7 billion paid in state and federal taxes

the 90's. There wasn't one grape in any of those areas until the gentlemen farms sprang up growing grapes in the 90's.
They even had to pass laws to protect the oaks. I think the view of grapes as much as there are is an eye sore and no it isn't being dramatic.
It is the site of man made land scape vs nature made. Man can't improve on nature no matter how much wealth he generates for the few who own the land.

Up here in Placer County you either have horse ranches or grapes or Both. And if you step into a tasting room, you get the same tripe from the folks about haw special their wine is compaires to the other place down the road.

I just want a good gallon of wine that works well with food instead of talking about the wine all the damned time.

When I was a youngster My Dad knew all the wineries that sold in gallon jugs. It seems he could sniff them out. And I am talking decent wine, no Gallo or Franzia

If you're looking for a good Cab at a decent price there's McManus out of Ripon. Fetzer still has a decent Sauvignon Blanc that isn't too pricey and there's always Two Buck Chuck.

in Safeway.

But somehow it is not the same as Dad with the gallon jug on the floor to the left of where he was sitting.

Years ago there was a group of investors who has shops in a few parts of California who used barrels of wine and you could dispense your own wine.

What a grape concept!

Damned inflation...

Thanks for the reminder about McManis; I recently read something very positive about them (darned if I can remember what it was, but it left a good taste in my mind) and I've been meaning to try a bottle...

areas be turned into viticulture especially since many vintners are not organic and don't engage in environmental growing practices.

sustainable and nearly sustainable viticultural practices produce wine grapes of better quality. For some producers that has become an important marketing claim. I know of even large growers in the Central Valley who employ these methods. But your point is well-taken -- not enough growers embrace the practice.

a prime choice for the land here. One reason is that over the years they improved farming technique and it's made it more profitable to do grape farming than to do something like Cherry farming. Terrible year for cherries.

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