Wash. grape and wine industry worth $3 billion to state

By Associated Press
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - The good news keeps coming for Washington's grape growers and winemakers: a new study released Thursday shows the industry contributed $3 billion to the state economy in 2006 and employs nearly 19,000 people.

Industry leaders say the report confirms the state's wine industry is having a tremendous impact on the economy, leading to increasing visibility for Washington's wines and sparking efforts to tout Washington 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.

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