Study Says The American Wine Industry Is Worth $220 Billion
WineAmerica, aka the National Association of American Wineries, a 600-member trade association, has released the first-ever comprehensive study of the economic impact of the American wine industry across all 50 states — and the big news is that the industry's total contribution to the U.S. economy for 2017 will total $219.9 billion.
"We have long known intuitively that our industry's economic impact was enormous," writes WineAmerica president Jim Trezise on the organization's website, "but it's nice to now have hard numbers which illustrate that."
The study, conducted by New York-based John Dunham & Associates, covered all 50 states, measuring "direct [i.e., wine producer], supplier, induced, and total output, including jobs, wages, and taxes at all three levels." ("Induced" output means expenditures by those employed either directly or as suppliers.)
The results illustrate how important the wine trade is in the American economy. Besides that total figure of $219.9 billion, the study learned that the industry provides almost a million direct jobs and over $33.5 billion in annual wages, and that when supplier and induced numbers are added in, the figure rises to 1,738,270 jobs and $75.8 billion in wages.
Other impressive statistics from the study: California produces about 85 percent of the wine made in America, but there are wineries in every one of the 50 states — currently some 10,236 wineries in all. Some 677,629 acres of land in 49 states are planted to vineyards (Alaska produces fruit wines, as well as grape wines made from imported juice, but grows no vines). And wineries across the country record almost 43 million tourist visits annually, adding more than $17.6 billion to local economies.