US Wine Industry by State

The Geographic Spread of US Wineries

TTB permit data paints a picture of an industry that has evolved far beyond its historical concentration in California. While California's Central Coast, Napa, and Sonoma remain the production heartland, winery permits have proliferated across the country. Browse state data on PlainAlcohol to see winery counts for every state.

The Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon) established itself as the second major wine region decades ago. More recently, the Mid-Atlantic (Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania), the Midwest (Michigan, Missouri), the Southwest (Texas, Arizona), and the Southeast (North Carolina, Georgia) have developed growing wine industries, each with distinct grape varieties and styles suited to local climates.

What Winery Permit Counts Tell You

What it tells you: The total number of bonded winery permits in a state reflects the breadth of its wine industry. A state with hundreds of winery permits has a mature, diversified industry with tourism infrastructure, distribution networks, and consumer awareness. A state with a handful has an emerging industry, often relying on wine trail tourism and direct-to-consumer sales.

What it doesn't tell you: Permit counts say nothing about production volume. One large California winery may produce more wine than all the wineries in a small state combined. TTB permit data does not include production figures, those are reported separately and are not public in the same way. Also, some winery permits are held by entities that produce very small quantities (under 100 cases) primarily for personal consumption or as a hobby.

How to use it: Compare winery counts across states on PlainAlcohol's rankings page to see the distribution. The registry is a point-in-time snapshot of active permits, so it shows where wine industries are deep today rather than a year-by-year trend.

Wine Regions Beyond the West Coast

Several states hold deep wine industries well outside the West Coast core. Virginia, with 637 bonded wineries, is the East Coast's largest wine state, concentrated in the Monticello and Shenandoah Valley areas. Texas holds 1,009, the third-most in the country, anchored in the Texas Hill Country and High Plains AVAs.

Michigan's 747 bonded wineries, centered on the Leelanau and Old Mission peninsulas, make it a top-six wine state. States not traditionally associated with wine, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, also carry bonded winery permits, as cold-hardy grape varieties and improved viticultural techniques make production viable in more climates.

What This Means for You

Step 1, Explore your state's wine landscape. Visit your state page on PlainAlcohol to see the winery count and compare to neighboring states.

Step 2, Compare permit types. A state's mix of wineries, distilleries, importers, and wholesalers reveals the character of its alcohol industry, some states lean toward production, others toward import and distribution.

Step 3, Consider the per-capita perspective. Small-population states with strong wine tourism can have high winery counts relative to their resident population. Oregon leads the country at 69.76 permit holders per 100,000 residents, ahead of California at 53.71. Compare per-capita rates for meaningful benchmarking.

Step 4, Look at the competitive landscape. If you are considering entering the wine industry, browse existing producers in your target state and city to understand the competitive environment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which state has the most wineries?

California leads by a wide margin with the most bonded winery permits, followed by Washington, Oregon, New York, and Virginia. California alone accounts for a significant share of all US wine production. However, the winery landscape has diversified significantly, every state now has at least some bonded winery permits, and states like Texas, Virginia, and Michigan have rapidly growing wine industries.

How many wineries are in the United States?

TTB data shows thousands of active bonded winery permits across the United States. The number has grown steadily over the past two decades as wine production has expanded beyond traditional regions. PlainAlcohol tracks every federally permitted winery by state, making it easy to see the geographic distribution and compare states.

What is a bonded winery permit?

A bonded winery permit from the TTB authorizes the production of wine on bonded premises, meaning the premises are under TTB supervision for tax purposes. The 'bond' refers to a surety bond or equivalent guaranteeing payment of federal excise taxes. This permit is required for any commercial wine production in the United States, from large operations producing millions of cases to small farm wineries making a few hundred.

What is the difference between a winery permit and an alcohol importer permit?

A bonded winery permit authorizes domestic wine production. An importer basic permit authorizes bringing wine (or other alcohol) into the US from foreign producers. Some companies hold both, producing domestic wine and importing foreign wines. PlainAlcohol tracks both permit types separately, allowing you to distinguish domestic producers from importers in any state.