While the harvest for grapes used in some sparkling wines already has begun, the majority of the state’s harvest will occur from now through October. The vines remain in need of a steady dose of hot days and cool nights to improve on the 2016 harvest, which set several records for production.

Wineries

More than 2,000 wineries have opened in since 2006.

California has more than four times more wineries than the state with the second-most, Washington.

States with most wineries, 2016

1. California 4,653

2. Washington 1,019

3. Oregon 644

4. New York 530

5. Texas 497

6. Michigan 387

7. Virginia 332

8. Pennsylvania 328

9. Ohio 300

10. Missouri 221

Source: Department of the Treasury

The grapes of math

California wine shipments to the U.S. reached an estimated retail value of $34.1 billion in 2016.

The state shipped an all-time high of 238 million cases to the U.S. in 2016, up 2% from the previous year.

California grape crush statistics show the price for red wine grapes reached a record high in 2016. This indicates great stability in the product because the amount of grapes harvested increased as well.

The overall average statewide price per ton paid to growers

It’s all about the yield

Even though the 2016 crush was large in tonnage, the Allied Grape Growers said the crush size was below average because the yield per acre was lower than average.

California wines selling for $10 or more account for 19 percent of the volume and 40 percent of the value in the U.S.

Wines under $10 have 81 percent of the shipment volume and 60 percent of the revenue.

California has 17 different wine pricing districts. District 13, (areas of Tulare, Madera, Fresno and other counties) had the largest volume, but the price per ton was $301. Grapes produced in District 4 (Napa County) had the highest price, $4,666 per ton, and were up 7.3 percent from 2015.The second-highest priced region was District 3 (Sonoma and Marin counties) with $2,584 per ton.

You can read the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2016 report here.

The average price per ton in 2016 by variety:

Cabernet sauvignon $1,432

Chardonnay $880

Merlot $765

Zinfandel $603

Popular California varieties in tons

Leading varieties in 2016

Percent of total 2016 crush in California

Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Wine Institute, California Wines, Vinepair.com