The Center For Rural Pennsylvania recently published a comprehensive study of the state's wine industry. The 19 page report is chock full of interesting facts, cogent analysis and should be required reading for anyone interested in wineries located in Pennsylvania. The report, written by professors Dombrosky and Gajanan, compares Pennsylvania's wineries to those located in neighboring states and illuminates both the strengths and challenges facing the industry. It notes the following interesting facts (among others):

  1. Over the last five years, the Pennsylvania wine industry has grown rapidly, although not as quickly as is occurring in Ohio, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.
  2. The states of New York, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina have "significantly higher levels of state funding" for research and promotion than does Pennsylvania.
  3. Pennsylvania is the 5th largest grape producer in the United States.
  4. Pennsylvania ranks 6th among the Eastern states for wine production.
  5. In the five-year period of 2007-2012, Pennsylvania wineries received governmental loans totaling $1.1 million.
  6. In the same five-year period, the Pennsylvania Winery Association received grants totaling an additional $550,000.
  7. The Pennsylvania wine industry is operating at only 76% of its capacity
  8. The "principal players" of the Pennsylvania wine industry -- other than the wineries themselves -- are the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, Pennsylvania Winery Association, Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Board and Pennsylvania State University.
  9. A staggering 81% of all Pennsylvania wine is sold directly by wineries to wine outlets or tourists, such that wine tourists represent an "essential distribution" channel. There are almost "no sales" of Pennsylvania wines through wholesalers or distributors.
  10. All Eastern states (except Pennsylvania) permit direct shipping of wine to consumers, a fact which is likely to change in the near future, as Pennsylvania appears close to privatizing the functions of the Liquor Control Board.

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