How many states in the United States produce wine?
It's a topic that we've often discussed at our Wine Tasting events
and, since the latest figures showing the expansion of wineries across the
country have recently been released, perhaps it's a good time to look at the
current top ten winery states and what this information says about the American wine industry in general.
All fifty states in the union produce wine from grapes and,
as of January 1, 2017, there were 9091 wineries in the United States. Some of the top ten winery states might be a
bit surprising.
In order, the top ten are:
In order, the top ten are:
- California (4202 wineries)
- Washington (747)
- Oregon (713)
- New York (385)
- Texas (287)
- Virginia (269)
- Pennsylvania (229)
- Ohio (194)
- Michigan (156)
- North Carolina (142)
Tied for last in the state rankings are Alaska, Hawaii, and Mississippi,
each of which hosts a mere four wineries.
For our Canadian friends, British Columbia has 309 wineries,
Ontario has 236, and Quebec has 95 wineries.
The biggest change in the U.S. Top Ten list is the elevation
of Texas into the #5 spot over Virginia. Texas wineries have shown explosive
growth over the past few years. In fact, Texas is the only state in the U.S. to
show a double digit percentage increase (26%) in the number of new wineries
last year. They added 59 wineries in 2016, second to California's 148 new wineries,
but the percentage growth in Texas wineries far outpaced all other states. Ohio
had the second largest percentage growth of new wineries in the United States
in 2016.
The United States has only 65 wineries that produce over
500,000 cases annually, and those 65 wineries produce 81% of all domestic wine.
94% of domestic wineries produce less than 50,000 cases annually, and
it's these relatively smaller wineries that have always been the focus of our
wine program.
The trends show that the American wine industry continues to
flourish, especially in states not formerly associated with grape growing and
wine making. We'll leave the discussion of the overall quality of wine from
these new wine states to another newsletter, but for now, the U.S. consumer has
never seen more wine diversity and Americans have never had so many domestic
wine choices from across the entire country. That's a good thing, both for the
consumer and for the overall health of the U.S. wine industry.
This grape has a long
and often misunderstood history and how it found its way to Northern California
is quite interesting.
Many theories exists as to where Zinfandel came from and when,
but due to extensive research by Californian historian Charles Sullivan and
U.C. Davis professor Carole Meredith, the truth is now known. What we know as
Zinfandel is actually a Croatian grape called Crljenak Kastelanski from the
island of Kastela off the coast of Split, Croatia. From Croatia, this vine
found its way to other European countries including southern Italy, where it's
known today as Primitivo.
In 1829 the initial vines, without any grape name
attached to it, were imported to the United States from Vienna, Austria to Long
Island and Massachusetts to produce table grapes. History doesn't tell us
exactly how the name Zinfandel was attached to this grape although it seems to
have happened in the 1830's in New England. From there the vines were
sent to California in 1852 after the initial 49er gold rush as many would-be
miners turned to producing and selling agricultural products and wine to
other miners and homesteaders.
This grape thrived in the hot dry weather of the gold rush
country of eastern California and its ability to produce high quantity per acre
made it a prized vine. By the beginning of the 20th century, Zinfandel vines
occupied many premium vineyard locations on the North Coast, and, although
delayed by the onset of Prohibition, the realization that cooler sites produced
much better Zinfandel changed the evolution of this grape from one of jug-wine
quality to being capable of producing an ultra-premium red.
Although still grown extensively in the hot and dry
northeastern California foothills, most of the best Zins come from cooler
locations near the Pacific Ocean, often from the Russian River region of Sonoma
County. It’s a difficult grape to grow as the vine produces compact clusters
that ripen unevenly with many green and harshly tannic grapes mixed on the same
cluster with ripe grapes. Once ripe, the grapes turn to raisins very quickly so
rapid picking and ruthless whole-cluster hand-sorting at the winery are
required to produce premium Zinfandel, but if all goes well, it is a glorious
wine that can be among the best reds produced in California.
2014 Hartford Russian
River Valley Old Vine Zinfandel
If you desire any further information or would like to purchase the wine, please contact The Westin Kierland Villas Food, Beverage, and FUN Manager John Voita directly at john.voita@westin.com. Please note that deliveries are not available to all areas.
Wine Event Information
Tony Miller
There is one particular producer of Zinfandel that's been
the favorite of The Westin Kierland Villas for many years; Hartford Family
Winery. Hartford produces several fantastic single vineyard old vine Zinfandel's
but for our newsletter readers, we have a particularly special offering.
We have a very limited supply of the 2014 Hartford Russian
River Valley Old Vine Zinfandel. The Russian River Zin has received 90 points
or higher every year since 2007, but the 2014 is the highest scoring Hartford
RRV Zin ever made, 94 points, from famous critic Robert Parker.
In addition to Parker's review, Wine Spectator Magazine
stated in their December 2016 issue, which detailed their Top 100 Wines of 2016,
that the 2014 Hartford RRV Zin as the 10th best wine in the world
for 2016.
Most of the Wine Spectator's Top 10 wines are sold out long
before their December issue goes to press, so we're thrilled to be able to
offer a limited amount of this spectacular wine for $43.99 per bottle. The
winery sold this wine out in a matter of days after the Top 10 list was announced,
so get some quickly as our very limited inventory won't last long. Our order
limit is 3 bottles.
2013 Alexander Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon
We're also featuring a truly great Alexander Valley Cabernet
Sauvignon blend from the exclusive Jackson Estate product line. This 2013 Cab
has no retail distribution and is meant to be sold in restaurants only. We
offered the 2012 Jackson Estate Cab last year at our tasting events and it was
wildly popular. The 2013 has a much higher score, 94 points from Robert Parker,
and is a far superior wine in every way. An Alexander Valley Cab with this pedigree,
this score and this exclusivity (no retail distribution) doesn't typically sell
for as low as our $44.00 price, so get some while quantities last. This
represents a tremendous value in California Cabernet Sauvignon.
If you desire any further information or would like to purchase the wine, please contact The Westin Kierland Villas Food, Beverage, and FUN Manager John Voita directly at john.voita@westin.com. Please note that deliveries are not available to all areas.
It is always a pleasure hosting the wine events for you. Please be sure to register prior to your arrival to ensure you are a part of the experience. Thank you.
Resident Wine Expert
The Westin Kierland Villas
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