Cheers to Washington's growing wine industry. Did you know Washington is now the second-largest producer of premium wine in the country, behind California?
Impress even your most wine-obsessed friends with these fast facts from the Washington Wine Commission:
Number of wineries:
940+
Number of wine grape growers:
350+
Varieties produced:
Nearly 70
Number of AVA's (American Viticultural Areas):
14
Ratio of red to white:
64 percent red to 36 percent white
Wine production:
Approx. 17.5 million cases
Wine grape acreage:
55,000+ acres
Record harvest:
2016 with 270,000 tons
Most recent harvest:
2017 with 229,000 tons
Total Economic Impact:
$4.8 Billion
Wine market segment:
Washington State is focused on the premium wine market segment (wines sold for $8 and higher).
Average hours of summer sunlight:
16 hours per day, about one more hour than California's prime growing region
Annual rainfall:
Eight inches in Eastern Washington (the major grape growing region)
35-38 inches in Western Washington
