As of November 2004, the number of wineries in the United States has increased to over 4,700, according to the latest Wine Business Monthly proprietary database. This figure includes 3,382 bonded grape wineries and 1,358 "virtual," or non-bonded, wineries, but excludes mead or non-grape wineries.

Wine Business Monthly analyzes federal basic permit holder data from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) while also researching non-bonded wineries through proprietary methods. In October, WineAmerica, a trade association representing U.S. vintners, also examined the TTB numbers and found there are over 3,700 bonded wineries in the U.S. The difference between the two figures is a result of differing criteria and information collection methods.

The WBM count includes over 1,300 virtual wineries. 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.

WBM includes virtual wineries in the final count for several 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. It is also not uncommon for a bonded winery to have begun operations as a virtual winery, and then eventually grow large enough to invest in their own bonded facilities (one example is Blackstone Winery while more recent examples include Amicus Cellars/X Winery in St. Helena and Passalacqua Winery in Dry Creek Valley). 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 second major difference in the data collection methods is in regards to the number of bonded wineries counted. Through WBM's own research, bonded non-grape wineries, such as meaderies, sake houses or other fruit wineries, are separated from the total wineries database and not considered in the final analysis. Bonded winery information is sourced from the TTB.

Wineries in All 50 States

The WBM database found that at least one winery exists in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. California, unsurprisingly, has the most wineries, with 2,445 (1,605 bonded, 840 virtual), representing 52 percent of the total wineries in the U.S. California is followed by Washington (368 total: 298 bonded, 70 virtual), Oregon (281 total: 213 bonded, 68 virtual), New York (218 total: 167 bonded, 51 virtual) and Pennsylvania (123 total: 93 bonded, 30 virtual). Delaware has the fewest wineries, with only one, which was bonded in the last 18 months. North Dakota and Washington D.C. both have three wineries, although Washington D.C. has only virtual wineries and all of North Dakota's wineries are bonded.

From June, 2003 to November, 2004, over 450 new bonded winery permits were issued by the TTB. Of these new permits, approximately 130 went to pre-existing wineries (i.e., virtual wineries that became bonded wineries).

California, by far, experienced the largest bonded winery growth, representing approximately 33 percent of new bonded wineries. Behind California, Washington state and Oregon experienced the largest growth spurts. Washington accounted for 12 percent of the new bonded wineries while Oregon represented eight percent. Texas held four percent of the new bonded winery permits. Together, these four states account for 58 percent of the total new bonded winery growth in the United States. Another 14 percent of the new bonded wineries were from just five states: Illinois, North Carolina, New York, Ohio and Virginia, each which had about three percent of bonded winery growth. wbm

The above includes all unique bonded wineries licensed by the TTB; additional bonded production or storage locations under the same management are not considered as unique wineries and are not included in the counts. A Virtual Winery has a unique physical location (that may be another entity's winery), produces at least one brand (may have multiple brands and/or produce for others) and has it's own winemaker and management (may share either of these with another entity). WBM winery count excludes bonded facilities which produce primarily mead and non-grape wines. "New Wineries" represent new bonded wineries approved by the TTB from June 2003 to November 2004.