1997 OREGON WINERY REPORT


May 8, 1998
Frequency: Annual

Oregon's wine industry continues to grow



-- The total number of wineries in Oregon increased by 6 to 111.

-- In 1997 103 wineries crushed 18,669 tons of grapes, 23 percent more than 

    the 1996 vintage.

-- Cooperage capacity increased 6 percent from the prior year.

-- Sales during 1997 totaled 12 percent more than in 1996.

-- Wine inventory on January 1, 1998 was up 14 percent from a year earlier.

-- This year's crush was 36 percent estate grown, 60 percent grown by other 

    Oregon vineyards and 4 percent grown in other states.




Inventory includes both bottled case goods and gallons of bulk

storage converted to case equivalents. The figures include bonded

and tax-paid inventory, regardless of location, owned by wineries. 




Grape wines from the 1996 vintage plus fruit and berry wines  made

in 1996 were the most recent included in the inventory table. Sales

include only grape wines.




Wineries reported unfilled grape crushing needs of 513 tons in 1997. 

Reported needs were: Pinot Noir, 248 tons;  Pinot Gris, 112 tons;

Merlot, 68 tons; White Riesling, 62 tons; Cabernet Sauvignon 13 tons;

Gewurztraminer, 10 tons.




This report was published by the Oregon Agricultural Statistics Service 

with the cooperation of the Oregon Wine Advisory Board, the

Oregon Winegrowers Association and the Oregon Department of

Agriculture. Funding was provided by the Oregon Wine Advisory

Board.

Oregon wineries: Number, crush, outshipments and cooperage, by county, 1996-97

All
wineries 		Wineries
crushing
grapes 		Wine
grapes
crushed 		Crushed
grapes shipped
out of Oregon
Total
cooperage
County 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997
Number Number Number Number Tons Tons Tons Tons 1,000
Gallons 		1,000
Gallons
Douglas 6 7 6 7 596 869 0 120 186 .1 215 .3
Lane 8 7 7 7 2,557 2,910 0 54 605 .5 599 .6
Marion 4 6 4 6 1,432 1,548 0 14 376 .0 304 .9
Polk 14 14 14 14 2,119 2,823 32 0 526 .0 480 .5
Washington 8 9 8 9 2,057 2,147 33 30 433 .7 532 .5
Yamhill . 32 34 29 31 4,780 6,084 1 258 1,247.4 1,425.3
Other Willamette Valley 1/ 15 16 13 14 661 734 0 15 228.0 252.1
Rogue Valley 2/ 13 12 10 10 853 1,360 33 0 374 .1 403 .3
All others 3/ 5 6 3 5 136 194 4 0 59 .5 64 .5
Total 105 111 94 103 15,191 18,669 103 491 4,036.3 4,278.0
1/ Benton, Clackamas, Linn and Multnomah counties.
2/ Jackson and Josephine counties.
3/ Clatsop, Deschutes, Hood River, Tillamook and Umatilla counties.

Oregon wineries: Crush, by type of acquisition and county, 1997 and 1996 totals
County Estate grown Purchased Custom crush All crush, 1997 All crush, 1996
Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons
Douglas 295 467 107 869 596
Lane 414 2,327 169 2,910 2,557
Marion 187 1,361 0 1,548 1,432
Polk 946 1,624 253 2,823 2,119
Washington 1,410 718 19 2,147 2,057
Yamhill 2,632 3,186 266 6,084 4,780
Other Willamette Valley 1/ 275 459 0 734 661
Rogue Valley 2/ 581 707 72 1,360 853
All others 3/ 49 145 0 194 136
Total, 1997 6,789 10,994 886 18,669 --
Total, 1996 5,382 9,009 800 -- 15,191
1/ Benton, Clackamas, Linn and Multnomah counties.
2/ Jackson and Josephine counties.
3/ Clatsop, Deschutes, Hood River, Tillamook and Umatilla counties.

Oregon wineries: Crush, by variety and county, 1997 and 1996 totals

County


Cabernet
Sauv-
ignon

Char-
donnay


Gewurz- traminer


Merlot


Muller
Thurgau


Pinot
Gris


Pinot
Noir


Sauv-
ignon
Blanc

White
Riesling


All
others


All varieties
1997 1996
Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons
Douglas 144 225 15 36 16 1 160 4 58 210 869 596
Lane 92 584 24 21 14 781 1,188 8 139 59 2,910 2,557
Marion 16 290 2 26 10 259 574 1 287 83 1,548 1,432
Polk 285 729 156 59 41 182 1,181 5 52 133 2,823 2,119
Washington 0 493 73 0 124 263 702 4 339 149 2,147 2,057
Yamhill 128 1,500 67 282 197 624 2,779 9 268 230 6,084 4,780
Other
Willamette Valley 1/
68
133
24
20
8
86
254
2
91
48
734
661
Rogue Valley 2/ 118 293 81 82 2 136 292 26 151 179 1,360 853
All others 3/ 55 9 2 46 0 12 10 0 39 21 194 136
Total, 1997 906 4,256 444 572 412 2,344 7,140 59 1,424 1,112 18,669 --
Total, 1996 479 3,428 285 136 387 1,795 6,403 85 1,537 656 -- 15,191


Oregon wineries: Equivalent wine production, 1996-97 4/
Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases

1997
57,101
268,235
27,983
36,050
25,966
147,731
450,000
3,718
89,748
70,084
1,176,618
--
1996 30,189
 216,050 17,962 8,571 24,391 113,130 403,550 5,357 96,870 41,345 -- 957,416
1/ Benton, Clackamas, Linn and Multnomah counties.
2/ Jackson and Josephine counties.
3/ Clatsop, Deschutes, Hood River, Tillamook and Umatilla counties.
4/ Equivalent wine production equals tons crushed times 150 gallons per ton divided by 2.38 cases per gallon.

Oregon wineries: Crush, by origin and variety, 1996-97
Oregon Grown in
other states
All crush
Estate grown Other Oregon grown All Oregon grown
Variety 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997
Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons
Cabernet Sauvignon 55 133 364 661 419 794 60 112 479 906
Chardonnay 1,250 1,672 2,134 2,567 3,384 4,239 44 17 3,428 4,256
Gewurztraminer 101 147 184 296 285 443 0 1 285 444
Merlot 12 50 116 250 128 300 8 272 136 572
Muller Thurgau 146 259 241 153 387 412 0 0 387 412
Pinot Blanc 41 72 59 97 100 169 0 0 100 169
Pinot Gris 733 908 1,036 1,436 1,769 2,344 26 0 1,795 2,344
Pinot Noir 2,355 2,623 3,907 4,299 6,262 6,922 141 218 6,403 7,140
Sauvignon Blanc 18 20 67 39 85 59 0 0 85 59
White Riesling 534 675 945 749 1,479 1,424 58 0 1,537 1,424
Zinfandel 4 8 115 170 119 178 0 0 119 178
All others 133 222 291 452 424 674 13 91 437 765
Total 5,382 6,789 9,459 11,169 14,841 17,958 350 711 15,191 18,669

Oregon wineries: Crush, by use, variety and wine type, 1996-97

Varietal
Sparkling 		Proprietary
or generic
All Uses
Variety and wine type 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997
Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons
Cabernet Sauvignon, red 359 596 0 0 42 16 401 612
Cabernet Sauvignon, blush 78 294 0 0 0 0 78 294
Chardonnay 3,029 4,026 311 227 88 3 3,428 4,256
Gewurztraminer 285 444 0 0 0 0 285 444
Merlot 136 568 0 0 0 4 136 572
Muller Thurgau 384 402 0 0 3 10 387 412
Pinot Blanc 100 169 0 0 0 0 100 169
Pinot Gris 1,795 2,343 0 0 0 1 1,795 2,344
Pinot Noir, red 5,901 6,992 341 87 33 15 6,275 7,094
Pinot Noir, blush 128 46 0 0 0 0 128 46
Sauvignon Blanc 85 58 0 0 0 1 85 59
White Riesling 1,486 1,404 37 14 14 6 1,537 1,424
Zinfandel 119 178 0 0 0 0 119 178
All Others 357 692 0 24 80 49 437 765
Total 14,242 18,212 689 352 260 105 15,191 18,669

Oregon wineries: Inventory, by vintage, variety and wine type, January 1, 1997 & 1998 1/
January 1, 1997 January 1, 1998

Variety and wine type


1995
vintage 		1994 and
earlier
vintages
All
vintages 		Share
of
total
1996
vintage 		1995 and
earlier
vintages
All
vintages 		Share
of
total
Cases Cases Cases Percent Cases Cases Cases Percent
Cabernet Sauvignon, red 16,951 19,424 36,375 4 .3 13,934 31,061 44,995 4 .6
Cabernet Sauvignon, blush 5,64 660 6,334 0 .8 1,460 574 2,034 0 .2
Chardonnay 115,537 80,182 195,719 22 .9 135,002 63,920 198,922 20 .5
Gewurztraminer 11,508 4,322 15,830 1 .9 9,285 4,215 13,500 1 .4
Merlot 8,163 6,446 14,609 1 .7 16,350 10,218 26,568 2 .7
Muller Thurgau 5,997 923 6,920 0 .8 6,940 462 7,402 0 .8
Pinot Blanc 1,584 1,135 2,719 0 .3 3,876 2,990 6,866 0 .7
Pinot Gris 47,139 5,135 52,274 6 .1 46,694 24,592 71,286 7 .3
Pinot Noir, red 220,666 107,053 327,719 38 .3 250,109 176,615 426,724 43 .9
Pinot Noir, blush 3,009 2,523 5,532 0 .7 4,602 1,330 5,932 0 .6
Sauvignon Blanc 7,537 4,748 12,285 1 .4 3,474 7,929 11,403 1 .2
White Riesling 40,234 21,604 61,838 7 .2 42,512 18,955 61,467 6 .3
Zinfandel 9,928 809 10,737 1 .3 8,985 1,152 10,137 1 .1
Other red varietal 2,885 1,492 4,377 0 .5 1,750 3,815 5,565 0 .6
Other white varietal 7,049 10,213 17,262 2 .0 6,717 5,101 11,818 1 .2
Red blends 2,760 1,827 4,587 0 .5 4,166 8,101 12,267 1 .3
White blends 2,751 99 2,850 0 .3 234 878 1,112 0 .1
Blush blends 1,512 300 1,812 0 .2 1,845 0 1,845 0 .2
All sparkling wines 39,308 36,346 75,654 8 .8 21,027 30,874 51,901 5 .3
Total 550,192 305,241 855,433 100 .0 578,962 392,782 971,744 100 .0

Oregon wineries: Equivalent inventory, by vintage, January 1,1997 & 1998 2/
Gallons Gallons Gallons Gallons Gallons Gallons
Total 1,309,457 726,474 2,035,931
--
1,377,930 934,821 2,312,751
--
1/ Figures in this table include estimates for incomplete responses.
2/ Equivalent inventory equals cases times 2.38 gallons per case.

Oregon wineries: Sales, by variety and wine type, 1996-97 1/
1996 1997
Variety and wine type Sales Share of total Sales Share of total
Still wines: Cases Percent Cases Percent
Cabernet Sauvignon, red 18,934 2 .6 21,421 2 .6
Chardonnay 165,263 22 .3 181,956 22 .0
Gewurztraminer 16,486 2 .2 14,674 1 .8
Muller Thurgau 18,178 2 .4 20,157 2 .4
Pinot Blanc 17,240 2 .3 4,966 0 .6
Pinot Gris 53,564 7 .2 81,634 9 .9
Pinot Noir, red 248,857 33 .5 292,213 35 .3
Sauvignon Blanc 7,262 1 .0 4,571 0 .6
White Riesling 90,623 12 .2 81,020 9 .8
Other still wines 73,895 10 .0 97,935 11 .8
All sparkling wines 31,651 4 .3 26,765 3 .2
Total 741,953 100 .0 827,312 100 .0
1/ Figures in this table include estimates for incomplete responses.

Oregon wineries: Sales, by wine type and destination, 1996-97 1/
Chardonnay Pinot Gris Pinot Noir, red White Rieseling All grape wine
Destination 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997
Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases Cases
Oregon 105,578 101,730 2/ 32,540 104,594 104,635 76,897 65,736 428,756 426,312
Washington 15,298 16,147 2/ 7,828 20,434 24,085 4,741 5,644 60,653 64,181
Other States 41,725 60,347 2/ 39,704 112,514 149,868 8,014 9,524 233,037 316,258
Exports out of U.S.: 2,662 3,732 2/ 1,562 11,315 13,625 971 116 19,507 20,561
Canada -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 8,497 8,689
Denmark -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 832 949
Japan -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 949 676
Netherlands -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 597
Sweden -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 828 --
United Kingdom -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,101 4,780
Other & undesignated
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
5,300
4,870
Total 165,263 181,956 -- 81,634 248,857 292,213 90,623 81,020 741,953 827,312
1 Figures in this table include estimates for incomplete responses.
2 Not asked.

Non-grape wine summary

Eight wineries produced approximately 22,500 gallons of non-grape wines, not including hard apple cider which is taxed as a wine product. Blackberries, raspberries, and loganberries were the leading fruits use d for th ese wines. Other fruits used for wines by commercial wineries in 1997 were rhubarb, currants, boysenberr ies, cranber ries and peaches. Honey was also used to make some wine. Some non-grape wines were made from undesignated commodities. This summary includes estimates for incomplete responses.

Compiled by:
United States Department of Agriculture
Oregon Agricultural Statistics Service

Homer K. Rowley, State Statistician
Ronald F. Kriesel, Deputy State Statistician
Douglas C. Marousek, Agricultural Statistician

Cooperating with:

Oregon Wine Advisory Board
Oregon Wine Growers Association
Oregon Department of Agriculture

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