released in September by Wine America, a winery trade organization, estimates wine’s economic impact this year will be about $276 billion dollars. That includes direct impact from production and sale of wine, indirect impact of the industry’s suppliers and the “induced impact” of all those wages being spent throughout the economy.
The study, by John Dunham & Associates, is an imperfect snapshot of American wine in 2022, because there isn’t reliable data to work with. Even a basic figure such as the number of acres planted to wine grapes has to be estimated from a number of disparate sources. The U.S. Department of Agriculture stopped tracking vineyard acreage years ago because of budget cuts, and state marketing studies such as Virginia’s often rely on voluntary participation by wineries.
Covid shutdowns dealt a blow to wine tourism in 2020 as wineries closed to visitors for several months, but retail and online sales boomed as we stockpiled wines for tough times. Wine was more flexible in this way than other service sectors such as restaurants, which were forced to pivot to takeout and delivery just to stay alive. That’s not to say there haven’t been pandemic casualties — wineries dependent on events such as weddings were hard hit.
When wineries reopened to visitors, the experience changed toward “curated tasting menus” rather than crowding around a bar. And with air travel still limited by the pandemic, more of us visited the “wine country” next door, giving local wineries a boost. It’s easier and cheaper to hop in our cars and head to Mt. Airy, Md., or Leesburg or Charlottesville in Virginia, or wherever “next door” is than to book a flight to California.The Wine America report estimates U.S.
If you’re interested in working in wine, the industry directly employs just over 1 million people, with an average pay and benefits of $51,800 annually. Related sectors whose success depends on a healthy wine industry employ an additional 364,000 people nationwide. The study does not explain how to find those jobs.When we enjoy wine with dinner, we know the price we paid for the bottle. We may be familiar with the winemaker’s story.
California has the best wine and most beautiful vineyards 🍇
and drunk folks spend money foolishly on Merlot candles and potpourri sachets that smell like freedom