Number of Wineries Grows to 8,391 in North America

New data from Wines & Vines magazine confirm solid growth in the North American wine industry during 2013. The number of wineries grew to 8,391, a gain of 4.3%. U.S. wineries showed two other signs of health as their combined production increased 6.3% and the average bottle price rose from $9 to $10.85.

Wines Vines Analytics, the magazine’s market-research team, released these numbers prior to the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, Calif., as a small sample of the information available in the 2014 Directory & Buyers Guide, now available in print and online formats.

The United States now has 7,762 wineries, led by California with 3,674. Canada has 568 wineries, having gained more than 8%. The net change in North American wineries was 345.

Bonded and Virtual Wineries
Type of winery Number of Wineries
U.S. Bonded 6,565
U.S. Virtual 1,197
U.S. Total 7,762
Canada / Mexico 629
Total 8,391

Bonded wineries have their own brick-and-mortar production sites, while virtual wineries have brand names and produce wine at host facilities.

States With 100-Plus Wineries
State or Province Number of Wineries
California 3,674
Washington 689
Oregon 566
New York 320
British Columbia 257
Virginia 223
Texas 208
Ontario 192
Pennsylvania 174
Ohio 144
Michigan 136
North Carolina 130
Missouri 122
Colorado 106
Illinois 100

Two Western states and two mid-Atlantic states had the fastest winery growth rates. Arizona counted 14.3% more wineries, Maryland 11.1%, Colorado 7.1% and Pennsylvania 4.8%.

Looking at U.S. wineries by annual case production, seven wineries joined the category of large wineries (those producing more than 500,000 cases) to bring that total to 56. The size categories that gained the most wineries were 1,000–4,999 cases and less than 1,000 cases. These now account for 6,017 wineries.

Wineries by Production Size
Case production Number of Wineries
Large (>500,00 cases) 56
Medium (50,000-499,000 cases) 253
Small (5,000-49,999 cases) 1,436
Very Small (1,000-4,999 cases) 3,189
Limited Production (< 1,000 cases) 2,828
Total U.S. 7,762

New Directory &Buyer’s Guide
The 2014 Directory & Buyer’s Guide presents a wealth of information about the North American wine industry contained in two major sections: the Winery Directory, which has detailed information about every winery, and the Buyer’s Guide, which contains content about equipment, supplies and services for the wine industry—plus a wide array of other valuable information for wine producers, grapegrowers, wine industry trade members and suppliers to the wine industry.

The Buyer’s Guide informs winery and vineyard managers where to find their equipment and supplies, including entries for 269 cooperage suppliers, 97 bottle suppliers, 190 tank dealers and thousands of other listings.

The 2014 Directory & Buyer’s Guide comes in a spiral-bound 774-page print format and is also accessible in searchable format online. Both are included for one price.

Among the extensive listings of contacts and offerings within the Directory & Buyer’s Guide are these:
• Wineries
• Winery and brand cross-reference
• Custom crush and winery cross-reference
• Growers
• Grower and winery cross-reference
• Direct-shipping regulations
• Distributors
• Trade/grower/winery associations
• Wine writers
• New-generation websites
• Wine competitions
• Wine industry PR firms
• U.S. grape crop authorities
• University programs in viticulture and enology
• Government offices and alcohol control boards
• Viticultural areas of North America
• Suppliers listed by those serving wineries, vineyards and general customers.

Wines & Vines’ 2014 Directory & Buyer’s Guide is available for $95 through the magazine’s website, www.winesandvines.com.

For more information, contact publisher Chet Klingensmith at chet@winesandvines.com or (415) 453-9700, or editor Jim Gordon at jim@winesandvines.com or (415) 453-9700.

Wines & Vines is based at 65 Mitchell Blvd. Suite A, San Rafael, CA 94903.