The good news keeps coming for Washington's grape growers and winemakers: A new study shows the industry contributed $3 billion to the state's economy in 2006.Industry leaders say the report released Thursday confirms that the state's wine industry is leading to increased visibility for Washington's wines and driving efforts to tout the state as a tourism destination. "One of the important messages is the fact that we need to routinely measure ourselves and stand up and be counted," said Vicky Scharlau, executive director of the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers. "Without this kind of proof of our economic impact to the state, it's difficult to continue growing."

Washington's wine industry has exploded in the past two decades, from fewer than 20 wineries in 1981 to more than 500 today. The state is the nation's second-leading producer of premium wine, after California, with 350 wine-grape growers and 31,000 vineyard acres.



The study, commissioned by the Grape Growers and the Washington Wine Commission, included juice grapes and juice in its figures for 2006. The economic impact in Washington state for juice sales figured in at more than $31 million. The study put winery revenue at $436 million, up from $289 million in 1999.

However, along with the good news came the realization that a similar report in 2001, which reflected the 1999 figures, may have overestimated the industry's might.

That report put the industry's economic impact on the state at $2.4 billion. But analysts counted revenue from wine sales at the winery, retail and distributor levels, essentially taking credit for a single bottle of wine three times, said Rob Morris of MFK Research, an economic research firm in St. Helena, Calif., that conducted both studies.

"Seriously inflated," Morris said of the $2.4 billion figure. Regardless, "the key message any way you look at it is that growth in this industry is huge," he said.

The federal government already has recognized nine wine grape-growing regions for their unique characteristics, and more regions have applied for recognition.

Some wineries have a summer concert series or festivals to draw music lovers to their region. In far southeastern Washington, fine restaurants and inns have opened in the city of Walla Walla, whose brick-lined streets are home to dozens of wineries. West of the Cascades on the outskirts of Seattle, the community of Woodinville has also made a name for itself with a spa and fine restaurants surrounded by wineries.

The trick has been in luring tourists to the grapes themselves and to the countless wineries sprouting up in the countryside.

Already, Washington is seeing clusters of tourism around wineries across the state, Scharlau said, and that could increase as the industry grows.

"Now that we have verification of our economic worth and growth, you'll see other people with renewed industry in Washington state, both on the growing side and the winery side, and on the tourism side as well," she said.

The Washington Wine Commission is building a marketing plan aimed at 5 percent annual growth in sales over the next five years. It is targeting specific U.S. cities — Austin, Texas, Denver and Phoenix — as well as international markets in the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada.

"We believe this targeted approach is the most effective way for us to increase awareness and ultimately increase sales for our wineries," said Robin Pollard, the commission's executive director.

In a country poised to become the No. 1 wine-consuming market in the world, Washington wineries could still see tremendous growth at home, she said. The state alone saw a 4 percent increase in wine consumption in 2006.

"The fact that consumers are becoming wine savvy, it's becoming more a part of our culture ... and the fact that Washington wine is so high quality and pairs with food, it puts us in a good position to compete," she said.

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On the Net:

http://www.wawgg.org

http://www.washingtonwine.org

http://www.mkf.com/