Grape growing and winemaking are really big businesses in the United States. Some interesting facts:
• The U.S. consumes more wine than any other country.
• There are some 11,000 wineries in the United States.
• There are wineries in every state.
• With four wineries, Alaska has twice as many wineries as Mississippi.
• Hawaii has three main winery-vineyard operations. There is a designated American Viticultural Area (Ulupalakua AVA) on the island of Maui.
• The U.S. has one million acres of grape-bearing land.
• Grapes are the highest-value fruit crop in the U.S. Wine, table grapes, and raisins bring in more than $6.5 billion a year.
• The U.S. produces more than 7.5 million tons of grapes every year.
• The U.S. produces more than 900 million gallons of wine each year, 12% of worldwide production.
• The U.S. is the fourth-largest wine producer in the world, behind Italy, France, and Spain.
• The U.S. annually exports some $1.5 billion worth of wine. The top five markets for those exports are the European Union, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, and China.
• The top five wine-producing states are California, Washington, New York, Oregon, and Texas.
• The top three states measured by the economic impact of wine are California, New York, and Texas.
• The top five states measured by the number of wineries are California, Oregon, Washington, New York, and Texas.
• Ten wine companies produce 75 percent of domestic wine sales.
• Fifty wine companies produce 90 percent of domestic wine sales.
• E&J Gallo is the world’s largest wine company. It sells some 100 million cases annually—1.2 billion bottles—almost one-third of all the U.S.-made wine sold in the U.S.
• Gallo dominates its competitors. The number two maker, The Wine Group, sells 51 million cases—half of Gallo’s sales. The number three maker, Trinchero Family Estates, sells 20 million.
• By comparison to Gallo, General Motors and Toyota combined control less than 15 percent of the U.S. car market. Amazon and Walmart account for less than 10 percent of the U.S. retail. You have to add GM, Toyota, Amazon, and Walmart together to match Gallo’s percentage of domination in its market.
Last round: A Vicks VapoRub truck overturned on the highway. Amazingly, there was no congestion for eight hours. After enduring a joke like that, you earned at least one glass of wine.