Climate is the biggest challenge facing vintners in most states. Traditional EuropeanVitis vinifera grape varieties don't thrive in hot humid summers and cold winters causing winemakers in many states to choose hardier native American or French-American hybrid grapes.
Washington produces wonderful wines, but the region is hard to define due to its diversity in terroir. It’s diversity in wine production contrasts with the more unified image of regions like Chile and S. Africa.
In 2016, not only does 90% of all wine made in the US come from California, it accounts for 60% of all wine consumed in the U.S. It's growing too with Cal wine production up 4.6% from 2015, and 25% in the last decade.
Everyone knows Oregon wines mean one thing: Pinot Noir! Indeed, 53% of the state’s 31,000 ton production in 2010 came from the ancient french grape (first described by the Romans in the 1st century AD).
San Rafael, Calif. -- The total number of wineries in North America has grown by 361 in less than one year, and swelled by 1,961 since January 2005, according to data released today on Wines & Vines IndustryBase. There are a total of 7,011 bonded and virtual wineries in the United States, Canada and Mexico;