Drink What YOU Like TagsNYWine, TXWine, VaWine, Virginia Wine, Virginia Wine Month In early summer, I sent a ‘tweet’ that noted Virginia as the 5th largest wine (grape) producing state.  This 140-character message resulted in many back and forth emails with a friend in Texas who claimed that Texas, not Virginia, is the 5th largest wine (grape) producing state. Interestingly, another wine friend from Michigan makes the same claim for his home state.  As it turns out Pennsylvania also claims to be the 5th largest producing state.  Though the top four wine producing states – California, Washington, New York, Oregon – are rarely the subject of debate, the 5th spot seems to be a point of contention. Given my genius tendencies, I feel confident that I’m right about Virginia being the 5th largest wine grape producing state.  For clarification, I contacted the best source of Virginia wine information – the Virginia Wine Board. As it turns out, the confusion from my friends in Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and even New Jersey comes from the way the US Department of Agriculture National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) tracks grape statistics.

NASS calculates state production statistics based on total grape production, which includes table grapes.  States like Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania produce a significant amount of table grapes for juices and jellies. So, in terms of ‘wine grape production‘ Virginia is the 5th largest wine producing state in the US. Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Play a quick game of solitaire or Sudoku. Or take one of our fun quizzes! Let these 22 recipes guide your next mid-morning meal. Absent glitter and Trump, journalists honor press freedom Democratic candidates for governor debate for first time Memorial Day flowers honor fallen service members at Arlington National Cemetery At 100 days in, Trump seems both outsider and insider 7 top places to catch spring blooms across America From Death Valley National Park’s vibrant yellow daisies to the district’s iconic cherry blossoms to the Great Smoky Mountains’ colorful wildflowers and everywhere in between, here’s where to catch impressive floral displays across America this spring.

As the 4th largest wine producing country in the world, the US wine industry has steadily increased in size and revenue over the past decade.  In 2010 the US became the leading wine consuming nation at 330 million cases (Wine Institute, 2011).  This equates to Americans drinking 3.96 billion bottles of wine in comparison to France’s record of 3.85 billion bottles (Press Democrat, 2011).  top red dry winesAccording to the Impact Databank Report, Americans spent more than $40 billion on wine in 2010, and wine consumption recorded its 17th annual increase in the US.  best man wine bagCalifornia, the largest wine producing state in the nation, currently accounts for 61% volume share of the US market (Wine Institute, 2011).best cheap turkish wine

Wine Production in the US Wine is produced in all fifty US states.  According to Wine Business Monthly (2012), the total number of wineries in the US reached 7,116 in 2011 showing a 9% increase from the previous year.  Of these, 6,027 are bonded wineries with a physical location, whereas the other 1,089 are virtual wineries.   California is the largest wine producing state with a current count of 3,458 wineries.  best wine areas spainThe next largest wine producing states are Washington, Oregon, New York, Virginia and Texas, respectively.best red wine brands india According to the US International Trade Association (2011), in 2010 grape production in the US was 6.86 million tons with 944,800 bearing acres.  best red wine varietyThe top 5 wine grape varieties grown in the US are Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. 

The highest price per ton of wine grapes in the US is Napa County with an average of $3,389 per ton paid in 2011(USDA, 2012). Wine Consumers in the US Of the more than 313,000 million inhabitants in the US, approximately 35% drink wine at a per capita rate of 3.03 gallons or 11.5 liters (Wine Market Council, 2012).  In terms of demographics (SVB, 2012), 69% are white, 14% Hispanic, and 11% African American, with the remainder 9% from other races.  The average age of the American wine consumer is 49, with Millennials, or those who fall between the ages of 21 and 34 making up 26% of wine consumers,  ages 35-44 at 19%, ages 45 to 54 at 21%, and those over 55 at 34%.  College degrees are held by 24% of American wine consumers.  Consumption rates are growing amongst Millennials and men. Preferred varietals of Americans in terms of sales are chardonnay, which holds first place in the US, at 21% market share and cabernet sauvignon in second place at 15% (Nielsen, 2012).  Though sales are decreasing, merlot still holds third place, with pinot gris and pinot noir as fourth and fifth favorites, respectively. 

Fastest growing categories are Moscato, Malbec, Riesling and sweet red blends.  The most popular price point in 2011 was the $9 – $11.99 category.  Some of the best selling brands include Sutter Home Moscato, Cupcake Chardonnay, Barefoot Pinot Grigio, Gnarly Head Zinfandel, Menage a Trois Red, and Gallo’s Apothic Red. Americans also enjoy drinking imported wine, with 1 out of every 4 bottles sold from a foreign country.  In 2010, the top imported wines countries were (ITA, 2011):  Italy (30%), France (24%), Australia (14%), Chile (7%), Argentina (6%), and Spain (6%).  These accounted for 87% of the total value of imported US wines. In general, the future prospects for continued wine growth in the US market are positive.  American consumers are adopting wine at a strong level with 17 years of continued growth (Wine Spectator, 2011) and prospects for this trend to continue.  On the negative side, the US wine industry has experienced two years of poor weather resulting in lower crop loads.