The winegrape industry in this state is expanding. Opportunity exists for continued growth and expansion of the industry by creating new markets in areas of the state and the country. The success of an expansion program is uniquely dependent upon effective market development, promotion, and research because the creation of new markets is essentially a matter of educating and informing people of the use, nutritional value, and availability of a previously unrecognized food. The expansion of the winegrape industry also provides an important source of jobs for many people in this state, a high proportion of whom reside in historically depressed areas of the state, and serves to ensure the preservation of an agrarian society.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 727, Sec. 50.8. Effective January 1, 1996.)