American Wineries by State

Below is a map of the US with the number of wineries per state. There are some surprises.

Wineries by state and province at the end of 2022
from winebusiness.com
click on image to enlarge

Counting wineries

There are various ways to calculate the number you see above. There exist both physical (brick and mortar) and virtual (online sales only) wineries. It must be bonded by the feds for any physical production or storage. States have licensing for a business to make and sell wine. Because you have a license doesn't mean you have to be actively producing wine. For instance, Napa Valley makes 4% of California's wine, but has 27% of all the state winemaking licenses (article).

I know someone in Napa with the wife in the wine biz, though not on the production side. They hired a contract winemaker to make some Cabernet for them, they got the necessary licensing, took a few pictures of the vineyard and the winemaker and put up a website to sell their Cab. But that's not exactly a winery, is it?

I don't know how the numbers on the map were calculated.

 

California

It's not surprising is that California is first, but the fact that it blows away every other state might be. Three-fourths of the state's wine is actually from the Central Valley. The well-known regions for premium wine only make up a small part of the total. Napa and Sonoma are each about 4%, for instance. Napa and Sonoma each have over 400 wineries, or about the same as NY State.

California's Central Valley vineyards seem to go on forever

Other big producers

Other major wine states are OR, WA, TX, NY, PA, VA, and OH all with over 300 wineries.

There are quite a few around the Great Lakes as the water offers a moderating effect on the climate, leading to significant fruit production in this area, including wine grapes. Missouri has a decent wine region with wine tourism. Iowa and Illinois actually have more than I would have guessed. Maybe it's some overflow from Missouri's industry. Florida having 34 wineries is a bit of a surprise.

Some states may have wineries using native American grapes, hybrid grapes, or other fruits rather than the traditional Vitis vinifera wine grapes native to the Mediterranean region. Other states actually import all of their grapes from places with good grape growing climates. Florida, for instance, does have a few vineyards growing mostly a heat-resistant native Muscadine grape. The southernmost winery in Florida uses tropical fruit to make wine.

A closer look at some of the larger regions

Oregon - Oregon is known for Pinot Noir, plus Pinot Gris and Chardonnay, in the coastal-influenced Willamette Valley south of Portland. Pinot is 70% of Willamette's vineyards. Willamette is 80% of the state's production.

Washington -  Most of Washington's vineyards are in the eastern part of the state, where the climate is sunny and dry, with warm to hot days and cool nights during the summer. The vast Columbia River Valley and the cooler Yakima Valley are the primary growing areas. Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, and Syrah are the most important grapes.

Texas - The Hill County in the south-central part of the state is the most well-known, though there are also concentrations of wineries north of Dallas and Houston. Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo are the most planted grapes in the state. Both varieties have a heat tolerance up to about 95 degrees.

New York - The Finger Lakes region in upstate NY is the best-known wine region. Their primary grapes are Riesling and Gewurztraminer. Other main regions are Long Island, Hudson Valley, and Niagara. The dominant grape in the state is a Vitis labrusca grape, Concord. Riesling is a distant second.

Pennsylvania - The largest grape producing area in on Lake Erie, growing mostly the Concord grape in that cold climate, with almost 3/4 of the state's grape production. In the SE part of the state, in the Lehigh and Lancaster Valleys, there is Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Riesling. This is a warm, humid climate during the growing season. I expect the farmers spend a lot of time fighting fungal diseases, as they probably do in other nearby states.

Virginia - Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot are the most produced wines. The majority of the wineries are located in the Shenandoah Valley in the NW and the adjacent Northern and Central VA growing areas. They grow a lot of Petite Manseng, a grape from SW France, and Petit Verdot, from Bordeaux. Both have small grapes in loose clusters, helping to prevent rot in a humid climate like Virginia.

Ohio - Most of the vineyards are along Lake Erie, taking advantage of the moderating climate of the water. Likewise, most of the wineries are in the NE. Ohio grows a lot of native grapes, such as Catawba, Concord, and Niagara. One-third of the grapes grown are Vinifera including Riesling, Chardonnay, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, and Pinot Gris.

Pennsylvania vineyard on Lake Erie

Personal experience

Outside the West Coast I've had wines from AZ, HI, MI, NY, OH, PA, VA, though not a lot of wines from these states. So far, I prefer wines from the Leelanau Peninsula area of Michigan.