Viognier has gone world-wide with vineyards in Italy, Spain, Greece, Switzerland and Austria as well as Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa…the list goes on. But it is the rapid increase in Viognier plantings in California and Australia that has helped to push the wine onto the world stage.

Before 1990 there were hardly any vines in California - today there are around 2000 acres devoted to the vine. The first vines were introduced in the early 1980s along the Central Coast in Monterey, but since 1990 they have been planted widely due to the growing demand.

Viognier has achieved almost a cult-wine status in the US. Its highly aromatic nose is complemented by moderate acidity and flavors of peaches and minerals in the mouth.

• 1 lb. shell-on shrimp
• 1 1/2 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp dry white wine
• 1 oz orange liqueur (optional)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp salt

Thread shrimp onto double bamboo skewers* to keep flat. Grill the shrimp approximately 2 minutes per side, depending on the size of the shrimp, over a hot grill until they just turn pink.

Remove from grill and skewers. Place on a garnished party plate with toothpicks, and it's ready to serve.

Serves 4 appetizers, recipe can be doubled.
*Soak skewers for 1/2 hour first.

Cradled between the Mayacamas and Sonoma mountain ranges, Sonoma Valley is the birthplace of California's famed wine industry and the closest wine region to San Francisco, just 45 minutes north. It encompasses 17 miles of unparalleled beauty, including 13,000 acres of parkland. The eight-acre Sonoma Plaza is the largest town square of its kind in California and a National Historic Landmark, rimmed by carefully preserved adobe buildings. Up the road in Glen Ellen, author Jack London lived and wrote at his beloved Beauty Ranch, now an 800-acre state historic park. It is a region with a rich legacy in the history of our country, as well as an ideal travel destination for any season or a stay of any length. Sonoma Valley offers a cornucopia of stories about wine, food, agriculture, and the fascinating and passionate individuals who live here and are producing some of the best wines in the world.

Legend has it that the names "Sonoma" and "Valley of the Moon" are derived from an indigenous word for "many moons." Today this notion is considered romantic. It is true, however, that indigenous people lived here for 12,000 years before the Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans arrived; and the name Sonoma may actually be derived, more prosaically, from "noma," a Mayacama word for town. Gazing at the starry skies, modern-day visitors can see for themselves if the moon indeed rises and sets several times nightly over the eastern Mayacamas hills, as ancient travelers claimed.

Born and raised in Greenfield Wisconsin, Sal graduated from Marquette University in 1991 with a BS in Chemistry In the fall of 1991, he moved to Evanston, Illinois, and began graduate studies at Northwestern University. By December of 1992, he earned a MS in Analytical Chemistry; that same month he was accepted to the Viticulture and Enology department at UC Davis. Moving to California in May of 1993, he began classes that fall. In 1994, at Hess Collection Winery he worked his first harvest. During the 1995 vintage, he worked at Cuvaison Winery, in both the cellar and the lab. After six months, he went back to Davis to finish his thesis; "Investigating Methods of Detecting Urea in Wine." In the summer of 1996, he received his MS in Enology and returned to Cuvaison for the upcoming harvest, as the enologist. Immediately after that harvest, he was offered the opportunity to work in Pierro Margaret River Vineyards, Western Australia as a "temporary" winemaker. After his winemaking experience in Australia, he answered a help-wanted ad the local paper which read "small, family-owned winery looking for a hands-on winemaker." He joined Tony and Jo Ann Truchard at Truchard Vineyards in January 1998. Sal De Inni is still creating wines there today-hands-on.