Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego wines catching on?

Acres planted, gross sales, and varietals produced — all up

San Diego vineyards grow 45 grape varietals
San Diego vineyards grow 45 grape varietals

A new study commissioned by the San Diego County Vintners Association reports the economic impact of the San Diego wine industry reached $30.4 million in 2016.

Written by economic analyst Vince Vasquez, The Economic Impact of Wineries shows the number of licensed wineries in the county reached 116 last year. That number is up from 60 in 2012, and an increase of more than a hundred since 2009, when San Diego wineries numbered only 15. The 116 licenses represent the 5th highest number among California counties, behind only noted wine-producing regions of Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties; and just ahead of Riverside County, where most of the wineries reside in the Temecula Valley region, just north of San Diego.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"There’s a sense there’s something really special going on in our wine community," said Vintners Association president Linda McWilliams. "San Diego County is rapidly expanding in terms of acres planted, gross sales, and varietals produced."

The report attributes most of San Diego county's growth to a change in county regulations in 2010, when the Tiered Winery Ordinance made it easier for wineries in county agricultural zones to open tasting rooms without having to apply for a major use permit. Since 2010, the total county acreage dedicated to harvesting grapes has more than doubled, rising from 447 acres to 945 acres, while the total value of these crops has increased more than 400 percent, from $785,000 to $4.2 million.

But the study shows a marked increase in local winery revenue has taken place more recently. From 2015 to 2016, sales at wineries increased by 88 percent, on average, resulting in more than $23 million in gross sales last year. Last year's sales generated $1.1 million in local sales tax revenue, plus an additional $965,429 in property taxes.

By conservative estimate, the report determines the local wine industry supports 519 jobs — 37 percent of them full time — and creates another 178 local jobs indirectly. Most of San Diego's wineries (57 percent) operate on a very small scale, producing fewer than 1000 cases per year; by comparison, only 8 percent of Temecula's wineries produce that small an amount.

The study shows 45 varietals are now cultivated locally, with most vineyards growing 8 or more. While Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah grape varietals were the most common — each grown by 59 percent of local growers — followed by Sangiovese (46 percent) and Merlot (38 percent).

However, McWilliams notes that, as the number of grape varietals grown in San Diego has increased, no single varietal defines the diverse region. "It is difficult to call out any particular wine varietal as doing especially well," she said. " As we have more varied growing zones or micro climates here in the county, we can grow just about any varietal. It just depends on where the vineyard is located."

She added that as local winemakers continue to win awards with local wine and wine tourists increasingly seek out San Diego product, the Vintners Association is optimistic of even higher numbers in the future. “We feel like pioneers, seeing just the tip of growth ahead for the region’s wine industry.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”
San Diego vineyards grow 45 grape varietals
San Diego vineyards grow 45 grape varietals

A new study commissioned by the San Diego County Vintners Association reports the economic impact of the San Diego wine industry reached $30.4 million in 2016.

Written by economic analyst Vince Vasquez, The Economic Impact of Wineries shows the number of licensed wineries in the county reached 116 last year. That number is up from 60 in 2012, and an increase of more than a hundred since 2009, when San Diego wineries numbered only 15. The 116 licenses represent the 5th highest number among California counties, behind only noted wine-producing regions of Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties; and just ahead of Riverside County, where most of the wineries reside in the Temecula Valley region, just north of San Diego.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"There’s a sense there’s something really special going on in our wine community," said Vintners Association president Linda McWilliams. "San Diego County is rapidly expanding in terms of acres planted, gross sales, and varietals produced."

The report attributes most of San Diego county's growth to a change in county regulations in 2010, when the Tiered Winery Ordinance made it easier for wineries in county agricultural zones to open tasting rooms without having to apply for a major use permit. Since 2010, the total county acreage dedicated to harvesting grapes has more than doubled, rising from 447 acres to 945 acres, while the total value of these crops has increased more than 400 percent, from $785,000 to $4.2 million.

But the study shows a marked increase in local winery revenue has taken place more recently. From 2015 to 2016, sales at wineries increased by 88 percent, on average, resulting in more than $23 million in gross sales last year. Last year's sales generated $1.1 million in local sales tax revenue, plus an additional $965,429 in property taxes.

By conservative estimate, the report determines the local wine industry supports 519 jobs — 37 percent of them full time — and creates another 178 local jobs indirectly. Most of San Diego's wineries (57 percent) operate on a very small scale, producing fewer than 1000 cases per year; by comparison, only 8 percent of Temecula's wineries produce that small an amount.

The study shows 45 varietals are now cultivated locally, with most vineyards growing 8 or more. While Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah grape varietals were the most common — each grown by 59 percent of local growers — followed by Sangiovese (46 percent) and Merlot (38 percent).

However, McWilliams notes that, as the number of grape varietals grown in San Diego has increased, no single varietal defines the diverse region. "It is difficult to call out any particular wine varietal as doing especially well," she said. " As we have more varied growing zones or micro climates here in the county, we can grow just about any varietal. It just depends on where the vineyard is located."

She added that as local winemakers continue to win awards with local wine and wine tourists increasingly seek out San Diego product, the Vintners Association is optimistic of even higher numbers in the future. “We feel like pioneers, seeing just the tip of growth ahead for the region’s wine industry.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
Next Article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.