Per winesandvines.com there are now 8,000 wineries in North America. There has been substantial growth in the last three years--even with the recession.
This 8,000 number includes over 1,000 "virtual" wineries meaning they have a name, and hopefully a winemaker, but no facility of their own. It totals up as about 7,500 U.S. wineries with 550 in Canada and Mexico. Over 3,500 are in California. About 6,000 of the 7,500 U.S. wineries make less than 5,000 cases a year so the majority are very small and you've never heard of most of them.
Every state in the U.S. produces wine with California making almost 90% of the juice. New York, Washington and Oregon produce another 5% with the remaining 5% coming from the other 46 states. In number of wineries California is followed by Washington, Oregon, New York, Virginia and Texas all having over 200 wineries each (along with British Columbia).
In 1975 CA had 330 wineries. WA and OR each had just 16.
Along with that there are over 2,000 craft breweries with new ones opening at the rate of one per day. I hope you're thirsty!
Yes, that was a lot of numbers. The Wines & Vines article has some nice tables that make it easier to see.
In my opinion with so many wineries to visit you want to visit one that stands out and that gives you an extraordinary experience. Rams Gate does just that. With a small staff that makes you feel at home the second you walk in the door, and wines that blow your taste buds out of the water this winery hits a perfect 10 in my book. www.ramsgatewinery.com
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