As of November 2006, the number of wineries in the United States has increased to 5,970, according to the latest Wine Business Monthly proprietary database research. This figure includes 4,383 bonded grape wineries and 1,587 "virtual," or non-bonded, wineries. The data excludes mead or non-grape wineries.

The number of wineries in the U.S. has grown 26 percent since WBM's first study in 2004. At that time, WBM found there were 4,740 wineries in the U.S. In 2005, that number jumped 13 percent to 5,364, and jumped 11 percent again in 2006 to the current 5,970 figure.
WBM analyzes federal basic permit holder data from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB), while also researching non-bonded wineries through proprietary methods.

The WBM count includes 1,587 virtual wineries, 171 fewer than in 2005. Virtual wineries are wineries that do not hold their own bond. A virtual winery has a physical location (which may be at another winery), produces at least one brand, and has its own management and winemaker, although the winemaker can be a consultant or work for multiple wineries.

It is not uncommon for a bonded winery to have begun operations as a virtual winery, and then eventually grew large enough to invest in their own bonded facilities. This is one reason why Wine Business Monthly tracks virtual wineries. In 2006, 153 virtual wineries received a bond and are now counted among the bonded wineries. Of these, 78 are located in California, 14 are in Oregon, 10 are in Washington, eight in Virginia and the rest are located throughout the U.S.

WBM includes virtual wineries in the final count for several other reasons. In many cases, a virtual winery acts in much the same way a bonded winery would act, differing only in that the virtual winery has to use an outside bonded facility to physically make and bottle the wine. By definition, all virtual wineries have complete control over decisions regarding the wine, from vine to bottle.

WBM finds the virtual wineries through detailed research methods: cross-referencing the WBM database with press mentions, competition awards and winery association memberships, as well as investigating virtual wineries through other proprietary methods.
The WBM data collection methods and research eliminates bonded non-grape wineries, such as meaderies, sake houses or other fruit wineries from the total wineries database. They are not considered in the final analysis. Bonded winery information is sourced from the TTB.

See the full text of "Number of U.S. Wineries" in the February 2007 Wine Business Monthly.