Virginia wineries see record sales

Increased wine sales across the country and overseas has led to a record year for Virginia wines.

January 18, 2013; 8:57 AM • by RVANews staff

Virginia wine sales reached a record high in the 2012 fiscal year¹ as state wineries sold nearly 485,000 cases. This topped the previous record, 477,000 cases, set the previous fiscal year.

“I’m incredibly pleased to see that Virginia has set a new all-time high in wine sales,” Governor Bob McDonnell said about the 39 percent sales increase. “We faced some real weather obstacles last year, but that didn’t stop Virginia’s wine industry from continuing to grow and expand.”

Export wine sales saw the most growth, increasing from about 700 to 3,300 cases–more than 300 percent–over the previous year. Many of those sales were to China and the United Kingdom, areas where Gov. McDonnell has focused on Virginia’s global marketing and export growth.

In the US, a total of 14,033 cases were sold to distributors outside Virginia, an increase of 24 percent over the previous year.

The Department of Alcoholic and Beverage Control estimates that over $1.7 million in wine liter taxes were collected in FY 2012 (the state carries a $3.60 per case tax rate).

Virginia currently has over 230 wineries, ranked fifth among the nation. Estimates show that Virginia’s wine industry employs more than 4,700 people and annually contributes nearly $750 million to the state’s economy.  

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January 18, 2013 8:57 AM 0