California Touts Wine and Food

The California Wine Institute and the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) are promoting the state's wine and cuisine offerings through a campaign called "Land of Food and Wine" and targeting what it calls culinary connoisseurs. A new website (http://www.landoffoodandwine.com) will debut soon at wine and food and travel media events in New York. In February, a national TV campaign featuring Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others, will begin.

The new website will feature an interactive Wine Region Explorer, showing the best California wine regions and wine and food itineraries, the best way to find local favorite eateries, blogs featuring wine and food luminaries, and a chance to win exclusive culinary adventures in California.

According to the Travel Industry Association, 17 percent of American leisure travelers, or 27.3 million people, have engaged in culinary or wine-related activities while traveling. These travelers are well-educated and more affluent than other U.S. travelers and cross most age groups. Visit http://www.visitcalifornia.com or http://www.wineinstitute.org. (DE)