North America: there are almost 10,000 wineries

The number of North American wineries increased (5%) once again last year compared to the previous year. The census of the wineries in Canada and the United States and Mexico is carried out every year by Wines&Vines Analytics, which publishes the results in its report Directory & Buyer’s Guide from Wines & Vines.

According to the 2017 edition of the report, the number of wineries in North America now totals 9872: 9091 in the US, 692 in Canada and 89 in Mexico.

California is naturally the region with the highest concentration of wine producers and now has 4202 cellars, 42% of the US total; the state of Washington follows with 747, Oregon 713, New York 385, Texas 287, Virginia 269, Pennsylvania 229, Ohio 194, Michigan 156 and North Carolina 142.

W&V Analytics counts both companies with their own permanent wineries (7367) and virtual wineries, namely those that make wine at third party wineries (1724).

California is also the state where the number of wineries has increased the most: taking away those that went out of business and adding those that opened, the final number in 2016 was 148 wineries more than in 2015. Texas is instead the state where the number of producers has increased more percentage-wise: +26% compared to 2015 (56 new wineries).

There are about 65 large wineries, that is, those with a production capacity of more than 500,000 nine-litre cases every year, and they produce 81% of US-made wine.

There are 261 medium-sized wineries (producing between 50,000 and 500,000 cases) and they account for 10% of US wine production. The remaining 9545, that is, approximately 94%, are small wineries, with an annual production of less than 50,000 cases.
In Canada, the largest number of wineries is in British Columbia (309); 236 are in Ontario and 95 in Quebec.

(Simei / Unione Italiana Vini)

Olio Officina