Overview
Family-owned wineries are popular tourist attractions in certain regions of the United States. These wine-producing vineyards host visitors for educational tours and wine tasting. Some locations offer overnight stays.
California accounts for two-thirds of all wine sold in the United States. Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in retail value in California with an economic impact of $51.8 billion. The state produces 90 percent of all U.S. wine production. California’s wine industry generates $18.9 billion in retail sales in the United States. Tourism directly related to California’s wine industry accounts for 19.7 million visitors and expenditures of $2 billion annually.
California has 2,687 wineries. There are more than 4,700 wineries in the United States, according to Wine America, the National Association for American Wineries. The total retail value of the U.S. wine market was $27.8 billion in 2006, according to the Wine Institute.
Vineyard owners must adhere to state laws regarding the serving and selling of wine. Depending on the state, a license may be required to serve wine on the premises. A separate license is required to retail wine.
The Twenty First Amendment, which repealed Prohibition in 1933, granted states the right to control alcohol sales. A distribution system used in many states requires wine to be channeled through a wholesaler or a retailer before it is sold to a consumer. Since federal law governs interstate commerce, wineries and wholesalers claim the Constitution grants them a right to sell directly to consumers using phone sales or e-commerce.
In 2007, the California Wine Institute and the California Travel and Tourism Commission formed a partnership to promote culinary travel in the state. According to the statistics from the Travel Industry Association, 17 percent of U.S. leisure travelers, or 27.3 million people, have engaged in culinary or wine-related activities while traveling.
The District of Columbia and 18 states are allowed limited interstate shipment of limited quantities of wine, and 19 states prohibit it. Meanwhile, 13 states have enacted "reciprocal" legislation. Reciprocity requires legislative cooperation of other states to recognize a two-way shipment privilege. The U.S. Supreme Court in May 2005 handed down a decision on the constitutionality of discriminatory wine shipment laws. As a result, it is now unconstitutional for states to allow in-state wineries to ship wine to consumers without providing the same opportunity for out-of-state wineries.
Source
Wine Institute, http://www.wineinstitute.org/