For the first time in history, Zinfandel...

For the first time in history, Zinfandel has been replaced as the No. 1 red wine grape planted in California.

The 1992 Grape Acreage Survey, released this week by the California Agricultural Statistics Service, shows that Cabernet Sauvignon, with a total of 34,567 acres planted statewide, is now the most heavily planted red wine grape. Zinfandel--which has dominated red wine plantings since the 1800s, when the industry began, and ballooned in the 1980s because of the popularity of White Zinfandel wines--has risen only to 34,142 acres.

Chardonnay became the most heavily planted white wine variety, with 59,971 acres planted. For decades the leader had been French Colombard, which is the basis for many of the inexpensive jug wines that became popular in the United States in the 1970s. French Colombard acreage stands at 54,072, and not a single acre of it was planted in 1992.

Interestingly, more than 11,200 acres of Chardonnay, 18.8% of the statewide total, were listed as “non-bearing,” meaning they will produce a crop in subsequent years--and this at a time when there is a huge surplus of Chardonnay wine in the bulk wine market.

The popularity of Merlot was shown by the fact that of the 10,004 acres growing in 1992, 34% of the vines were non-bearing, meaning they were planted within the last two years.

Red wine grapes increased in acreage in 1992 over the prior year by 3.4%. White wine grapes increased 0.6%.