The California Distillers Association’s new interactive platform maps distilleries, tasting rooms and agricultural connections across the state, with a goal of growing specialty crop-based spirits sales by 20%.
California’s craft spirits scene just got a new tourism resource. The California Distillers Association (CDA) has launched the California Distillery Trail, an interactive statewide guide designed to connect visitors with local distilleries, tasting rooms and the agricultural communities behind their spirits.
The free, mobile-friendly platform, available at visitcadistillerytrail.org, allows visitors to discover distilleries, explore regional tasting opportunities and build customized trips around California’s growing craft spirits industry.
A Statewide Trail With an Agricultural Mission
California is home to approximately 207 craft distilleries, more than any other state, according to the CDA. And the state’s distilling identity extends well beyond traditional grains. Local producers work with specialty crop growers to transform California’s grapes, citrus, berries, nuts and herbs into distinctive spirits.
The new trail is part of a three-year CDA initiative funded by a $470,000 grant through the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. The broader initiative aims to increase sales of California specialty crop-based spirits by 20% while creating new, higher-value markets for the state’s farmers.
As Alex Villicana, CDA board president and owner of Re Distillery, explained, every bottle on the trail tells a story about a California farm.
The platform brings those connections into focus, allowing visitors to explore distillery profiles, discover upcoming events, learn about locally sourced ingredients and plan custom routes based on region, spirit type and tasting room hours. Visitors can also follow ready-made itineraries.
— Alex Villicana, CDA board president and owner of Re Distillery“Every bottle on the trail tells a story about a California farm.”
More Than a Directory: Building California Spirits Tourism
The California Distillery Trail currently features participating producers from across the state, including Hinterhaus Distilling, Redwood Empire Distillery, St. George Spirits, Corbin Cash, Re Distillery, Ventura Spirits Company, and Wright & Brown Distilling Co.
The CDA is also inviting additional California distilleries to participate. Member distilleries receive expanded profile pages that can feature events, cocktail recipes and additional information, while non-member distilleries can appear on the trail map.
Importantly, the association isn’t relying on the website alone to generate interest. Its plans include Google and Meta advertising, social media, email marketing, and consumer seminars and tastings throughout California in 2027 and 2028.
The first round of consumer events is expected to begin in spring 2027, with San Francisco, Dana Point, the Central Coast and Sacramento among the initial destinations.
For travelers, the platform offers a new way to organize a spirits-focused trip. For distilleries, it creates another opportunity to connect with consumers beyond traditional retail shelves.
Why This Matters
Craft distilleries have long had to compete for consumer attention in a marketplace dominated by established spirits brands. Creating a destination around the experience of visiting a distillery gives smaller producers another way to build relationships, introduce their products and earn repeat customers.
California’s approach also highlights something that can get lost in conversations about craft spirits: the agricultural supply chain behind the bottle.
Connecting distilleries with local growers gives consumers another reason to care about where their spirits come from, while potentially creating new revenue opportunities for farmers. It’s a model that could have implications well beyond California, particularly for states with strong agricultural industries and growing craft distilling communities.
Bourbon Bishop Bottom Line:
A good distillery trail should do more than put pins on a map. It should give people a reason to get off the highway, walk through a tasting room and discover producers they might otherwise never encounter.
California’s new platform has the potential to do exactly that, especially with its emphasis on connecting spirits to the farms and ingredients behind them.
The real test will be how effectively the CDA turns online discovery into actual tasting room visits and ongoing support for its participating distilleries. But investing in statewide visibility, tourism and agricultural partnerships is a worthwhile step toward building a stronger craft spirits community.
And if California can make a road trip out of discovering its local spirits, other states might want to take notes.
Explore the California Distillery Trail: visitcadistillerytrail.org
About the California Distillers Association
The California Distillers Association (CDA) is a nonprofit trade association representing more than 50 member distilleries across California. Through advocacy, education, collaboration and promotion, the organization works to strengthen the state’s craft spirits industry, support local agricultural partnerships and increase awareness of California-produced spirits.
Website: cadistillers.org
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