Iowa ranks 14th in number of wineries

Iowa ranks 14th in number of wineries BY BUSINESS RECORD STAFF
Iowa ranked 14th in the nation in number of wineries operating last year, according to an annual survey conducted by an industry publication.

The Wine Business Monthly report also said Iowa, with 62 wineries, ranked third among the 12 Midwest states. Iowa placed 16th with 26 wineries in the publication's first survey in 2004. The state's first two commercial wineries opened within months of each other in 1998.

Wine Business Monthly combines licensing data from the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and what it describes as "proprietary" methods to determine the number of wineries in the country.

Of the 6,011 wineries the publication counted in the United States, 49 percent are in California, marking the first time the state has not claimed at least half of the nation's wineries.

In the Midwest, Iowa trailed Missouri, with 95 wineries, and Illinois, with 83.

The Iowa Grape and Wine Development Commission reported recently that wine produced in the state had a market value of $12.3 million in the fiscal year that ended in June 2007. The commission's annual report cited a monthly production increase to 9,800 gallons in December 2006 from 5,000 gallons in December 2004. One gallon of wine produces about five 750 ml bottles.

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