Governor: Virginia Wine Sales Reach Record High

Image, courtesy of Visit Loudoun.

Sales of Virginia wine has continued to rise and hit a new record by increasing by almost two percent from fiscal year 2014 and 26 percent from fiscal year 2010, Governor Terry McAuliffe announced on September 29.

Numbers illustrated that Virginia wineries sold more than 524,000 cases of wine, or over 6.5 million bottles, in fiscal year 2015 versus a little more than 515,000 the previous year.

The Virginia Wine Marketing Office also tracked the sales of Virginia ciders separately from Virginia wines and reported that during fiscal year 2015, more than 496,000 cases of Virginia cider were sold, an increase of more than 200 percent from fiscal year 2014 when approximately 164,000 cases were sold.

“I’m pleased to see continued sales growth for our wines and ciders in Virginia, which means more jobs and revenue across the Commonwealth, especially in our rural areas where most of our wineries and cideries are located,” said McAuliffe in a news release. “This growth is especially heartening as Virginia wineries are increasing vineyard plantings to meet increased demand for our wines.”

On October 1st, McAulliffe also announced the 27th annual October Virginia Wine Month celebration, which offers visitors a chance to discover over 3,500 acres of winery and vineyard locations, seven American Viticultural Areas, and more than two dozen wine trails.

The theme for October Virginia Wine Month, “Discover Your Local Crush,” promotes Virginia wines at more than 250 wineries and more than 150 restaurants statewide, stated a news release.

“The Virginia wine industry has grown tremendously since the first October Virginia Wine Month proclamation was issued by Governor Gerald Baliles in 1988,” said McAuliffe in a prepared statement. “Yesterday, we announced that sales of Virginia wines reached another record high during the last fiscal year, and we expect increased sales in the future as demand for our outstanding wines continues to grow.’

“The sustained expansion of Virginia’s wine industry, one of the faster growing sectors of Virginia agriculture, is a priority for my administration as we work to build a new Virginia economy,” he added.

October is traditionally peak harvest time at wineries. Virginia currently ranks fifth in the number of wineries in the nation with more than 275 wineries and is the nation’s fifth largest wine grape producer.