Think Napa Valley, and what comes to mind? Rolling vineyards, luscious wines, and gourmet food. Vermont? Flavorful cheeses, best-quality maple syrup, and solidly built crafts. Cape Cod? Sand beaches, fresh seafood, and spectacular sunsets.  

The Berkshires?  For many people, a defining feature might not jump immediately to mind. But this region in western-most Massachusetts, often overshadowed by other New England travel destinations, wants to change that and build a brand as recognizable as Napa, Vermont, and the Cape. The idea is to tap into the burgeoning interest in food tourism to become a year-round destination, with the most ambitious dreamers envisioning the region as New England’s equivalent of Napa Valley.

The strategy taps into three trends: the local food movement, the popularity of farm-to-table restaurants, and the growth of small-scale, specialty farms, and agricultural products. Farms in Berkshire County now number more than 500, a jump of more than 30 percent in the last decade and nearly 65 percent in the past 20 years, according to US Department of Agriculture.