Grape Vines in Sonoma, CA (photo by David Ellis, courtesy of morguefile.com)

Vintners in America’s number one wine producing state want to open more wine tasting rooms, but local residents are concerned that throngs of intoxicated tourists will crowd their communities.

Some of California’s small wine makers envision selling individual bottles for as much as $20 in cozy tasting rooms, moving up to 5,000 cases of wine a year without special permits. The Associated Press reports that officials in San Diego County have already passed legislation that would allow them to do just that, but opponents have threatened to sue. The opposition is “arguing the county had not adequately studied the affects on traffic and the environment.”

According to the AP report published by Yahoo!, “The number of visitors to California wineries has nearly doubled from about 11 million in 1998 to almost 20 million in 2006, the latest year for which statistics are available from the Wine Institute, a trade group.”

Small vintners see the tasting rooms as an opportunity to bring in much needed revenue and more broadly market their wines inexpensively. Residents fear “tipsy tourists weaving through their quiet communities, possibly putting locals at risk while increasing traffic congestion and noise.”

If you’d like to read the Associated Press article cited above go to: Calif. vintners push to open wine tasting rooms