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14 WINES&VINES March 2017 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS North America winery count reaches 9,872 North American wineries grew in number to 9,872, an increase of 5% from a year ago, accord- ing to Wines Vines Analytics, the data arm of Wines & Vines. U.S. wineries totaled 9,091; the Cana- dian total was 692, and the Mexico count was 89. California remained dominant among the 50 states with 4,202 wineries, or 46% of all U.S. wineries, followed by Washington with 747 wineries and Oregon a close third with 713. British Colum- bia led Canadian provinces with 309 wineries, followed by Ontario with 236. Willamette Valley Vintners expands in Walla Walla Willamette Valley Vineyards Inc. is steadily expanding its presence in eastern Oregon, adding to its holdings in the Walla Walla Valley. Based in Turner, Ore., the winery is set to exercise an option to acquire a 45-acre parcel from the SeVein partnership, bringing its holdings in the area to approximately 129 acres. Willamette Valley Vineyards winery director Christine Collier said site topography means the property has just 20 plantable a c re s , h o w e v e r i t a l s o e n j o y s good air drainage. The property will operate separately from the SeVein purchases and support a second Walla Walla label focused on Rhône varieties for Willamette Valley Vineyards. Concannon Vineyard fined for nitrate in wastewater The Wine Group's Concannon Vine- yard in Livermore, Calif., agreed to pay a $635,000 penalty for im- properly disposing of wastewater, according to the San Francisco Re- gional Water Quality Control Board. The agency said the 134-year-old winery used an underground sew- age system to release wastewater that measured eight times the state limit for nitrate. The water control board said the wine company de- layed complying with regulations but is now trucking its wastewater offsite. Bitter winter for Idaho growers Just months after the 2016 harvest provided a bumper crop for Idaho wine grape growers, winter weather threatened the state's vineyards. "We haven't had weather like this for 30 years," Moya Shatz Dolsby, executive director of the Idaho Wine Commission, told Wines & Vines. Nighttime temperatures on Jan. 16 and 17 dropped as low as -18° F, causing bud damage in the Snake River Valley. Several feet of unmelted snow on the ground made further testing for trunk and phloem damage impossible. Most Idaho vineyards are own-rooted, and growers were hopeful that the blanket of snow would help insulate vines against damage. eBay partners with WineDirect Direct-to-consumer service Wine- Direct announced a partnership with online retailer eBay on Feb. 7. With headquarters in San Jose, Calif., 22-year-old eBay already offered wines from individual mer- chants through its auction and "Buy It Now" features. The com- pany's deal with WineDirect will provide "consumers with direct access to the inventory at winer- ies, including wines not usually available for sale online," accord- ing to eBay. U.S. wine exports hit $1.62 billion The San Francisco, Calif.-based Wine Institute announced in Febru- ary that the United States exported 45.9 million cases of wine worth $1.62 billion in 2016, with winery revenues up 1% over the previous year. Ninety percent of the domes- tic wine exports came from Califor- nia, the group said. The European Union accounted for $685 million, with 42% of exports going to its 28 member countries. Canada re- corded the second-highest amount of U.S. imports with $431 million. Rick Slomka, Wine Institute trade director for Canada, said Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan saw the strongest increases in U.S. wine sales. Chilean vineyards damaged by fires Fires ripped through Chile's wine country in late January, killing at least 11 people and damaging more than 100 vineyards. Several dozen wildfires burned more than 300,000 acres across the country, including blazes in the Colchagua and Maule winegrowing regions. Many of the fires were manmade, officials said, but they quickly gained speed due to high tem- peratures and drought conditions in the region. California wine grape harvest up 8% California crushed 4.2 million tons of grapes in 2016, with 4 million tons going to wine production, a c c o rd i n g t o t h e p r e l i m i n a r y C a l i - fornia Grape Crush R e p o r t r e l e a s e d Feb. 10. The 2016 crush represents an 8% increase over the previous year, though it fell shy of the bumper crops recorded in 2012 and 2013. Red wine grapes accounted for 53.7% of total grapes crushed in the state, while white wine grapes made up 41.6% of the total. See page 15. Lodi vineyards flooded Winter storms continued to hammer Northern California, causing flood- ing in the Lodi winegrowing area. The Mokelumne River overflowed its banks, and vineyard owners reported several feet of standing water, with some cases persisting for several weeks. See page 16. LATEST NEWS More detail on the news at winesandvines.com Top Stories The month in perspective Williamson Orchards & Vineyards in Caldwell, Idaho WINERY COUNT BY STATE OR PROVINCE California 4,202 Washington 747 Oregon 713 New York 385 British Columbia 309 Texas 287 Virginia 269 Ontario 236 Pennsylvania 229 Ohio 194 Source: Wines Vines Analytics U.S. WINE EXPORTS FOR 2016 European Union $685.2 million Canada $431.4 million Hong Kong $98.6 million Japan $87.4 million China $81.7 million Mexico $24.1 million South Korea $23.3 million Switzerland $18.6 million Singapore $13.6 million Philippines $13.2 million Source: Wine Institute