California promotes food and wine tourism

Cheers, April, 2008

California Governor Arnold Shwarzenegger and both wine and culinary celebrities are out in full force this spring to raise the visibility of the state's rich food and wine resources. The California Wine Institute and the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) is running a major promotional campaign through the end of May that includes an informative web site and national television ads featuring the luminaries.

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Landof WineandFood.com is at the heart of the campaign. The site offers an interactive wine region explorer, travel videos from the state's food and wine pioneers, blogs and wine and food itineraries, among other features.

"Wine and food have moved from being a mere vacation activity to a significant part of the aspirational California lifestyle, becoming a driver to visitors choosing a destination," says Caroline Beteta, CTTC executive director. "Our research shows there's still a lot of potential growth in wine and food travel to our state."