The object of the statistical exercise below is not to prove that we were once in the economics business but to trace the historic shifts in Zinfandel's place here in California. The first is that urban counties like Santa Clara and San Bernadino have given up their Zin acreage to housing. Zinfandel's growth in acreage in the face of these losses is substantially due to the enormous increase in plantings in the Central valley, both in the very hot, jug-wine areas and in warm but potentially hospitable places like Lodi (see San Jaoguin County).

There is far less growth in the coastal counties save for Mendocino and San Luis Obispo (largely in the Paso Robles appellation) and very little growth in the last twenty years in places like Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino that produce the largest share of highly rated Zinfandels.

Those figures suggest that pricey status of Zinfandels coming out of the top vineyard locations is unlikely to be threatened. The plantings in those areas have grown less rapidly than the demand for the wines they produce. On the other hand, there are plenty of grapes to go around, and some of the lesser locations, despite their interest in the expensive end of the market, will be well-advised to make gallons of affordable Zinfandel. And, maybe that is the good news in this chart.

-from Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine
January 2004
Reprinted with permission