U.S. WINERIES REACH A NEW HIGH IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

The U.S. wine industry is showing no signs of slowing down, not only in California, but across the country and in Canada too. With the addition of 465 wineries in 2006, California showed the nation's largest increase in new wineries during the last year, according to the 2007 Wines & Vines Directory/Buyer's Guide.

Washington gained 65 new wineries, up 22% in 2006, while Oregon ranked the third-largest growth, adding 49 new wineries for an increase of 22%. Texas (up 32%), Colorado (46%), New York (12%), Virginia (24%), North Carolina (44%), Pennsylvania (22%) and Michigan (26%) made up the rest of the top ten list.

With 2,116 wineries, California leads the nation in the total number of wineries, followed by Washington (365), Oregon (270), New York (199) and Virginia (105). Colorado replaced Missouri in the No. 10 spot this year, after jumping from 48 wineries to 70.

The Top 5 states that showed the greatest increases in new wineries by percentage include: South Carolina (75% increase), Hawaii (67% increase), Nevada (67% increase), Oklahoma (48% increase) and Colorado (46% increase).

Though the number of new wineries continues to skyrocket, the wineries themselves are often small, boutique operations. Approximately half of all North American wineries have an annual production of 15,000 cases or less, according to Wines & Vines