United States

The United States is the world's fourth-largest wine producer, with 2025 output estimated at 20.0 mhl, 8.9 percent of world production. Its vineyard, the fifth largest in the world, is estimated at 415 kha in 2025. Place-of-origin labelling runs through American Viticultural Areas, or AVAs, a specific type of appellation of origin used on wine labels. Petitions to establish one go to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which decides what action to take on them. There are 280 established AVAs, of which California holds 154. California dominates the national picture. United States wine production was 647,701,604 gallons in 2024, of which California accounted for 508,246,015 gallons, and California produces an average of 81 percent of total U.S. wine production. Beyond California, Washington had 67,000 bearing grape acres in 2025, New York 33,000 and Oregon 32,000, and AVAs reach from Ulupalakua on Maui, Hawaii, to Southeastern New England.

• 280 established AVAs nationwide as of August 18, 2026
• California holds 154 AVAs, more than any other state
• 20.0 mhl produced in 2025, 5.3 percent below 2024
• 415 kha under vine in 2025, 5.9 percent of the world total

AVA boundaries are set by petition, each backed by evidence of what distinguishes the area. Under 27 CFR 9.12, an AVA petition must describe the features that make a growing area distinctive: climate (temperature, precipitation, wind, fog, solar orientation and radiation), geology, soils, physical features and elevation, given as minimum and maximum elevations. Physical features include flat, hilly or mountainous topography, geographical formations, bodies of water, watersheds and irrigation resources. A petition must also outline what is common within the proposed boundary and explain how those elements differ in adjacent areas outside it. Established AVAs run from Ulupalakua on Maui in Hawaii to Southeastern New England, which covers Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts and contains Martha's Vineyard, and from Sonoita in Arizona's Cochise, Pima and Santa Cruz counties to Champlain Valley of New York. Several take their names from bodies of water: Lake Erie spans New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania; Upper Mississippi River Valley takes in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin; and Michigan's established AVAs include Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula.

• 27 CFR 9.12 lists climate, geology, soils, physical features and elevation as distinguishing features affecting viticulture
• Elevation evidence is given as minimum and maximum elevations
• AVAs extend from Ulupalakua on Maui, Hawaii, to Southeastern New England
• Lake Erie AVA spans New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania

An AVA is a specific type of appellation of origin used on wine labels: a delimited grape-growing region with specific geographic or climatic features that distinguish it from the surrounding regions and affect how grapes are grown. An AVA designation on a label lets vintners describe the origin of their wines to consumers more accurately. Names and boundary descriptions for every established AVA sit in 27 CFR part 9, which holds the official boundary description for each; the TTB tables of AVAs are for informational purposes only. The AVA sits inside a wider appellation framework in 27 CFR 4.25. An American appellation of origin may be the United States, a state, two or no more than three contiguous states, a county, two or no more than three counties in the same state, or a viticultural area. The origin thresholds differ: at least 75 percent of the wine must come from fruit grown in a state or county appellation area, while not less than 85 percent must come from grapes grown within the boundaries of a viticultural area. Where viticultural areas overlap, an appellation comprising more than one of them may be used if not less than 85 percent of the volume comes from grapes grown in the overlapping area. Establishment runs by petition. Any person may petition TTB to establish a new AVA, change a boundary, or change a name. The petition must show that the name is currently and directly associated with an area in which viticulture exists, with name evidence drawn from sources independent of the petitioner, and must set out the distinguishing features and boundary evidence.

• An AVA is a delimited grape-growing region distinguished by geographic or climatic features affecting how grapes are grown
• Viticultural area appellation: not less than 85 percent of the wine from grapes grown inside the boundary
• State or county appellation: at least 75 percent from fruit grown in that area
• Any person may petition TTB to establish an AVA or change its name or boundary
• Name evidence must come from sources independent of the petitioner

The national AVA listing groups AVAs by state, with a separate table for those that overlap two or more states. California is the largest single block by a wide margin, with 154 of the 280 established AVAs. The Pacific Northwest and interior West cover Washington, Oregon, Idaho and the Snake River Valley, along with Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas; Nevada and Montana are absent from the state-by-state listing. The Midwest and Great Lakes take in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Northeast and mid-Atlantic cover New York, New England, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The Southeast covers North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and the Mississippi Delta AVA, shared by Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee; South Carolina is absent from the state-by-state listing. Several AVAs cross state lines.

• California: 154 established AVAs, the most of any state
• Pacific Northwest and interior West: Washington (Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley, Beverly, Washington, Candy Mountain), Oregon (Applegate Valley, Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills, Elkton Oregon), Idaho (Eagle Foothills), the Snake River Valley AVA shared by Idaho and Oregon, plus Colorado (Grand Valley, West Elks), Arizona (Sonoita, Verde Valley, Willcox), New Mexico and Texas (Bell Mountain, Escondido Valley, Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country, Texas Davis Mountains, Texas High Plains); Nevada and Montana do not appear among the states listed with established AVAs
• Shared Northwest ground: Columbia Valley and Columbia Gorge span Oregon and Washington, and Lewis-Clark Valley spans Idaho and Washington
• Midwest and Great Lakes: Michigan (Fennville, Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula, Old Mission Peninsula, Tip of the Mitt), Ohio, Illinois (Shawnee Hills), Indiana (Indiana Uplands), Missouri (Augusta, Hermann, Ozark Highlands), Minnesota (Alexandria Lakes) and Wisconsin (Lake Wisconsin, Wisconsin Ledge), with Ohio River Valley shared by Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia
• Northeast and mid-Atlantic: New York (Cayuga Lake, Champlain Valley of New York, Finger Lakes), New England through the Southeastern New England AVA, Connecticut (Eastern Connecticut Highlands, Western Connecticut Highlands), New Jersey (Cape May Peninsula, Outer Coastal Plain), Pennsylvania (Lancaster Valley, Lehigh Valley), Maryland (Catoctin, Linganore), Virginia (Middleburg Virginia, Monticello, North Fork of Roanoke, Rocky Knob) and West Virginia via Kanawha River Valley
• Southeast: North Carolina, Georgia (Dahlonega Plateau), Tennessee (Nine Lakes of East Tennessee, Upper Cumberland) and the Tennessee/Mississippi overlap in the Mississippi Delta AVA, which covers Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee; South Carolina does not appear among the states listed with established AVAs
• Cross-border AVAs also include Appalachian High Country (North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia), Shenandoah Valley (Virginia, West Virginia), Mesilla Valley (New Mexico, Texas), Central Delaware Valley (New Jersey, Pennsylvania), Cumberland Valley (Maryland, Pennsylvania) and Upper Mississippi River Valley (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin)

Variety acreage figures here are for California, from an annual acreage survey of about 6,500 grape growers run by USDA NASS with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Table Grape Commission. In the 2024 crop report, released April 23, 2025, the leading wine-type varieties continued to be Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Cabernet Sauvignon stood at 94,906 acres (91,911 bearing, 2,995 non-bearing) and Chardonnay at 85,840 acres (83,725 bearing, 2,116 non-bearing). Pinot Noir followed at 46,899 acres, then Zinfandel at 35,906 and Merlot at 31,924. Among whites, Sauvignon Blanc reached 17,663 acres, Pinot Gris 16,034 and French Colombard 15,290. Syrah stood at 14,290 acres. California red wine type grapes totalled 286,399 acres and white wine type grapes 163,286 acres in 2024.

• Cabernet Sauvignon: 94,906 acres in California, 2024
• Chardonnay: 85,840 acres in California, 2024
• Pinot Noir: 46,899 acres; Zinfandel: 35,906 acres; Merlot: 31,924 acres (California, 2024)
• Sauvignon Blanc: 17,663 acres; Pinot Gris: 16,034 acres; French Colombard: 15,290 acres; Syrah: 14,290 acres (California, 2024)
• California totals for 2024: 286,399 acres of red wine type grapes and 163,286 acres of white wine type grapes

Wine Institute figures, compiled by bw166/Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates as removals of still wine from fermenters, put United States wine production at 647,701,604 gallons in 2024, with California accounting for 508,246,015 gallons; California produces an average of 81 percent of total U.S. wine production. The OIV estimates United States wine production at 20.0 mhl in 2025, 5.3 percent below 2024 and 16.2 percent below the five-year average, or 8.9 percent of world production. The vineyard stood at 415 kha in 2025, 5.9 percent of the world total, in a seventh consecutive year of decline driven largely by the ongoing uprooting of wine grapes in California. United States grape bearing acreage was 883,000 acres in 2025, with utilized production of 5,227,700 tons; California wine-type bearing acreage was 510,000 acres producing 2,620,000 tons, Washington had 67,000 bearing acres including 50,000 of wine type, New York 33,000 and Oregon 32,000. California's 2024 wine-type acreage stood at 590,000 acres, 550,000 of them bearing, alongside 120,000 acres of table-type grapes. United States wine exports fell to 2.0 mhl in 2025, down 17.9 percent on 2024, and imports fell to 12.0 mhl, with the United States remaining the world's largest wine importer by value.

• 647,701,604 gallons produced in the United States in 2024
• 20.0 mhl produced in 2025, 8.9 percent of world production
• 415 kha under vine in 2025, a seventh consecutive year of decline
• 883,000 bearing grape acres nationally in 2025, 5,227,700 tons utilized
• Exports of 2.0 mhl and imports of 12.0 mhl in 2025

Primary sources used for this article: TTB, Established American Viticultural Areas (https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/wine/established-avas); TTB, American Viticultural Area (AVA) (https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/wine/american-viticultural-area-ava); eCFR, 27 CFR part 9 subpart B, AVA Petitions (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-9/subpart-B); eCFR, 27 CFR 4.25, Appellations of origin (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-4/subpart-C/section-4.25); USDA NASS, California Grape Acreage Report, 2024 Summary (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Specialty_and_Other_Releases/Grapes/Acreage/2025/grpacSUMMARY2024Crop.pdf); USDA NASS, California Grape Acreage Report, 2024 Crop, detailed tables (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Specialty_and_Other_Releases/Grapes/Acreage/2025/2024%20Crop%20Grape%20Acreage%20Report.pdf); USDA NASS, Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts 2025 Summary (https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/ncit0526.pdf); Wine Institute, California & U.S. Wine Production (https://wineinstitute.org/our-industry/statistics/california-us-wine-production/). Secondary source: OIV, State of the World Wine Sector in 2025 (https://www.oiv.int/sites/default/files/2026-05/OIV-State_of_the_World_Wine_Sector_in_2025_0.pdf). Last verified 2026-10-05