Recently I read an article titled
Pa. wine production ranks 5th in the nation, which surprising since for the past few years I was under the impression that either Virginia or Texas ranked 5th - both behind the usual suspects: California, Washington, Oregon, and New York. The article did not site any data to support their claim, and no response from author Karissa Shatzer, so I decided to research myself. There are basically two appropriate sources of data, the
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which regulates the wine industry at the Federal level, and the
National Agricultural Statistics Service, which, as their name implies, collects agricultural data. We could also use unofficial data from
winecompass.com for ranking states by the number of wineries operating in each state (Figure 1). In this scenario, the figures aligned to conventional wisdom (at least mine) with Virginia and Texas competing for #5.
| State |
Wineries |
|
|
| California |
2,667 |
| Washington |
556 |
| Oregon |
475 |
| New York |
311 |
| Virginia |
241 |
| Texas |
234 |
| Pennsylvania |
203 |
| Ohio |
141 |
| Missouri |
134 |
| Michigan |
128 |
Figure 1. Number of wineries operating by state - includes meaderies and cideries
However, I don't think winecompass.com was the source that Ms. Shatzer used. She stated 5th largest wine producer and the best source for that data is the TTB's
Statistical Report by State - Wine. (See Figure 2.) The data for 2012 reveals some mighty unexpected results. New York leaps out as the #2 overall wine producer - perhaps a legacy of
Canandaigua Brands. (Is Manischewitz that popular?) In any case, besides New York overtaking Washington, the other surprises are the unlikely inclusion of Vermont, Kentucky, Florida, and New Jersey. The TTB data includes cider production which most likely accounts for Vermont's high stature as well as non-grape fruit wine (New Jersey) - but how that explains Kentucky and Florida - I have no idea. According to the TTB, Pennsylvania is the 6th largest wine producer with Virginia (16th) and Texas (11th) out of the top 10.
| State |
2012 Production |
|
|
| California |
667,552,032 |
| New York |
26,404,066 |
| Washington |
24,506,226 |
| Oregon |
6,829,808 |
| Vermont |
4,205,258 |
| Pennsylvania |
3,589,603 |
| Ohio |
3,048,054 |
| Kentucky |
2,379,512 |
| Florida |
1,946,162 |
| New Jersey |
1,561,365 |
Figure 2. Top 10 Wine Production by State
I mentioned that the TTB data includes cider and wine made from non-grape fruit, so what about limiting the data to just grape wine production. For this type of data, we need the
National Agricultural Statistics Service and their
Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts 2012 Preliminary Summary. The first chart I noticed was on page 48 titled
Grape Bearing Acreage, Yield, Production, Price, and Value - States and United States: 2010-2012 data (Figure 3). Displaying the top ten shows Pennsylvania and Michigan high on the list at the expense of Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. Now, this data includes all grapes, whether used for wine, table, or raisins; and thus needs to be limited further.
Top 10 Grape Production in Tons
- California
- Washington
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Michigan
- Oregon
- Texas
- Virginia
- North Carolina
- Ohio
Figure 3. Top 10 Grape Harvest Production
A more appropriate source is page 52 of the Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts report:
Grape Processed Utilization and Price by Use - States and United States: 2010-2012. This report encompasses grape wine production and I've listed the top producers for 2010 and 2012 in Figure 4. These results align more closer to my preconceived notions on wine production by state; although Michigan has passed Virginia to capture the 6th spot. Using the 2010 data, Pennsylvania is in fact the #5 wine producer. However, wine grape production declined sharply from 2010 -> 2012 which could be explained by changes in methodology in the surveys; moving towards lower yielding, but higher quality grapes; or perhaps moving grape utilization more towards jellies instead of wine. Regardless, according to this table, Pennsylvania is ranked 8th, not far below Texas, Michigan, and Virginia.
| State | 2010 Production | 2012 Production |
|
|
| California | 3,589,000
| 3,700,000
|
| Washington | 160,000
| 185,000
|
| Oregon | 31,200
| 46,000
|
| New York | 48,000
| 40,000
|
| Texas | 8,100
| 7,200
|
| Michigan | 3,800
| 6,950
|
| Virginia | 6,450
| 6,700
|
| Pennsylvania | 10,300
| 6,200
|
| Missouri | 5,040
| 4,550
|
| North Carolina | 4,500
| 4,420
|
Figure 4. Top 10 Grapes Processed for Wine (tons)
Conclusion
Like most statistical analysis, these results vary by year, by data source, by data inputs - so yes, it is complicated. According to the TTB's total wine production (including non-grape wine and cider) in 2012, Pennsylvania was ranked 6th overall with Virginia and Texas out of the top 10. Yet, restricting our analysis to just grape wine production, Pennsylvania falls to 8th, with Texas, Michigan, and Virginia rising above the Keystone state. What was more unexpected was the rise in Michigan's grape wine production almost doubling in two years. I wonder if the number of wineries doubled as well or this results from much larger yields?
In any case, the exact ranking of states probably only matters for bragging rights between government officials or winery associations. For consumers, it shows that there are plenty of local wine regions to explore. Cheers to that.
It's time to move past the Packer's late game meltdown and #deflategate and start concentrating on what's most important for Seahawks and Patriots fans heading to Phoenix for Super Bowl XLIX. What are the options for drinking local? And there are plenty, The Phoenix are is home to over 20 craft breweries in addition to one winery and one distillery. I've never had a chance to sample any, so please let me know your favorites. Here's what's listed on theCompass Winery Brewery Distillery Locator and WineCompass.com: 
