With a rich history, ideal wine growing conditions, and a recent surge in wineries, Idaho has been emerging from the shadows of its larger neighbors, Oregon and Washington, to claim a place of its own on the world’s wine map. Actually, grapes were planted there (1864, in Lewiston) before either of the other Pacific Northwest states, but the real growth has occurred since the 1970s with creation of the Snake River Valley AVA where most Idaho wineries are located. Diverse soils, warm days, and cool nights, with elevations from 600 to 3,000 feet, combine to support a diverse array of premium gra ..read more

DC Update This week brought more of the same (i.e., nothing) of interest to the wine industry, but plenty of political drama. The House impeachment of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkis quickly died in the Senate. Speaker Mike Johnson is walking a tightrope on vital defense funding measures (Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan) while his GOP colleagues threaten to dump him. And the Supreme Court is moving toward the end of key hearings, with decisions normally released in June. In a couple weeks, roughly 40 WineAmerica members from around the country will travel to DC to meet with their legislators abo ..read more

While the country of Georgia is the true birthplace of wine thousands of years ago, the state of Georgia was the sixth largest wine producer before Prohibition and has been growing in recent years. Most wineries are in northern Georgia near the Blue Ridge Mountains where the conditions for growing vinifera grapes are ideal. The industry emphasizes sustainability, and is supported by the University of Georgia’s Viticulture and Extension programs, along with the Georgia Wine Producers association. Frogtown Cellars was created in 1998 by Craig and Cydney Kritzer, and is one of the most awar ..read more

Farm Bill Blues Congress has returned to Washington after its latest recess, and is scheduled to be there for the next three months or so. But that doesn’t necessarily mean many important things will get done. The Farm Bill is a sad example. In theory, it’s passed every five years, and includes some vital provisions and funding for programs that benefit the grape and wine industry. Research funding, value-added grants, disaster relief, and agricultural export promotion through the Market Access Program (MAP) are among the key areas affecting our future. And for now they’re stuck. A new Farm B ..read more

Surrounded by massive bodies of water on three sides and on a relatively low (hot) latitude, Florida is ideal for growing all kinds of citrus and tropical fruits, but hospitable only to muscadine grapes—which is fine, as they can produce some real good wines. The large economic impact of wine on Florida’s economy is due to consumption, not production. The state has only about 100 wineries, but the large population and many entertainment meccas mean that the wholesale and retail sectors which support sales play an outsized role in wine’s economic benefit to the Sunshine State. . True Blue Wine ..read more

Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River Valley provide a milder climate than expected given the state’s northern latitude, allowing a broad range of grape varieties and other fruits to be grown. The Connecticut Winery Act of 1978 stimulated the growth of the industry, which now includes a 33-winery Connecticut Wine Trail and three AVAs: Southeastern New England, Western Connecticut Highlands, and Eastern Connecticut Highlands. Hopkins Vineyard, in operation more than 235 years as a family farm, is designated as a National Bicentennial Farm, and Stephen Hopkins came to this country on the M ..read more

DC Update This will be brief: Nothing of note happened this week, at least that affects the wine industry. Vital Associations FIVS Est: 1951 HQ: Paris, France Members: Wine, beer and spirits producers, distributors, importers, exporters, and trade associations Mission: Serve the beverage alcohol industry around the world on public policy issues FIVS is the official name of an organization that began as the Federation Internationale du Vin et des Spiritueux (International Federation of Wine & Spirits). It is essentially a mirror image of WineAmerica, but on an international level. Just as W ..read more

Colorado Mountain Winefest was voted Best Wine Festival in the USA by USA Today, and Wine Enthusiast rated Colorado as one of the Top 10 Wine Getaways in the World. Skiing? Of course. Wine? Surprise!  Colorado wine has come a long way in a short time, largely due to the consistent efforts of the state-run Colorado Wine Industry Development Board and the private non-for-profit Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (CAVE). In fact, CAVE’s Executive Director, Cassidee Shull, was recently honored as a 2024 Leader in Agriculture by the Denver Business Journal and Colorado Farm Burea ..read more

Shutdown Averted. New One Looms Congress avoided yet another government shutdown last week, when the Senate on Friday night approved a House-passed “minibus” appropriations bill for $460 billion and sent it to President Biden to sign just in the nick of time. This latest “continuing resolution” represents a little less than half of total government spending, and includes Agriculture as one of its components—good news for our industry. However, it’s not good news for the Farm Bill, which just stays where it has been. The drama continues, with the next deadline now less than a week away, and thi ..read more

California is truly in a league of its own when it comes to wine, even though 49 other states produce and consume it. The Golden State accounts for nearly half of all wine producers, makes about 80% of our country’s wine, and accounts for about 95% of American wine exports. California spans two-thirds of the U.S. Pacific coast, ranges over 10 degrees of latitude, has over 620,000 acres of vineyards from Mendocino to Riverside counties. That one state is also the fourth largest wine producer in the world. In 2022, 248 million cases of California wine worth $54,8 billion were sold. The state’s 1 ..read more