2012 Wine Sales In U.S. Reach New Record: Record California Winegrape Crop To Meet Surging Demand

(PRNewswire)  - Wine sales in the U.S. from all production sources—California, other U.S. states and foreign countries—increased 2% from the previous year to a new record of 360.1 million 9-liter cases with an estimated retail value of $34.6 billion," according to wine industry consultant Jon Fredrikson of Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates in Woodside. Of the total, almost two-thirds or 207.7 million cases of California wine account for a 58% share of U.S. wine sales with an estimated retail value of $22 billion.   Including exports, 2012 California wine shipments to all markets in the U.S. and abroad reached 250.2 million cases.

"The U.S. is the largest wine market in the world with 19 consecutive years of volume growth," said Wine Institute President and CEO Robert P. (Bobby) Koch . "Competition for retail shelf space and consumer attention is intense, so California's high quality, record winegrape harvest in 2012 could not have come at a better time. California vintners continue to respond to growing worldwide demand with a wide array of outstanding wines from regions throughout the state and Wine Institute is supporting the effort by opening markets and eliminating trade barriers in the U.S. and abroad."