MONTEREY WINE CORRIDOR UP FOR DEBATE

Discussions are looming in Monterey County over a possible “wine corridor” that would take up more than 80 miles of the Salinas Valley roadways. Industry leaders have pushed for the wine corridor the past five years but reaching a decision has been a long time coming. While the wine community believes building the corridor is critical in boosting tourism, environmentalists and slow-growth advocates see potential problems. They believe that an increase in wine-tasting rooms, restaurants and bed-and-breakfasts would result in major traffic congestion and hurt other farming operations. The plan would allow 40 small wineries, 10 large wineries, 10 standalone wine-tasting rooms, three restaurants, five winery delicatessens and eight bed-and-breakfast inns, but would still preserve the rural atmosphere, says wine corridor advocates. Results are likely to surface sometime in August.