Dispatches from California
This just in from the California bureau (OK, it’s actually from last week, but still interesting nonetheless)…
The vapors lost during the fermentation process are known poetically as the “angels’ share” as the wine releases to the heavens. Well, EPA officials have a new word for it: smog! The LA Times reported on Monday that the San Joaquin Valley, the heart of American industrial wine production, has worse air quality than LA or Houston. Of course, auto emissions and “cow flatulence” play a part too but winemakers may soon have to make expensive fixes to wine making to reduce the angels’ share…
A successful, middle aged San Francisco couple plans to build a new Napa winery. Doesn’t sound like much of a story–except that the couple in question is Nancy and Paul Pelosi. Is this a hobby for Rep. Pelosi, the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, or is it a plan for retirement?
And free trade in wine may be coming to California. Although the state has allowed shipping wine into the state, a bill that is headed to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s desk would remove the two case a month limit. The bill would also remove the requirement that states have open trade with California as a prerequisite for Californians to order from them, which could make California a diverse wine market for consumers. I’ll raise my glass to that!
