Wine Away The Hours

The United States is the fourth largest wine producing country in the world after France, Italy, and Spain. The production in the US State of California alone is more than double of the production of the entire country of Australia.

American wine has been produced for over 300 years. Today, wine production is performed in all fifty states, with California leading the way in wine production followed by Washington State, Oregon and New York.

The North American continent is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, Vitis vulpina, and Vitis amurensis, but it was the introduction of the European Vitis vinifera by European settlers that led to the growth of the wine making industry.

There are nearly 3,000 commercial vineyards in the United States with at least one winery in all 50 states.

The U.S. Wine Market
            • The United States is the world’s largest wine market.
            • The US consumed over 300 million cases of wine in 2006, generating over $26

Billion in sales.

Estimates for 2008, is that U.S. consumers will account for 25 percent of all the wine drunk in the world. Per capita consumption by Americans is expected to rise by 28 percent over the next three years.

The average U.S. retail price of a bottle of wine is more than twice of a bottle sold in France, and more than three times the average in Italy.