Oregon Wine Industry

Oregon is the third largest viniferous grape growing region in the U.S., with 463 wineries

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The Economic Impact of the Wine and Wine Grape Industries on the Oregon Economy 2019 and 2020 Estimated

| Economic Impact Studies |

January 2021 | Economic Forensics & Analytics and Full Glass Research

Introduction to the Study and Research Team

The Oregon Wine Board has commissioned studies quantifying the economic impact of the wine grape and wine-producing industries in Oregon for 2005, 2010, 2013, 2016, and now for 2019. This 2019 edition also considers effects from 2020’s challenges to the Oregon wine industry. Christian Miller of Full Glass Research (FGR) has been engaged for each study since 2005; in the 2019 version, Dr. Robert Eyler of Economic Forensics and Analytics (EFA) is the lead consultant, with FGR providing guidance and industry modeling when needed. EFA has acted as a key data source for the economic impact analysis in previous versions since 2010.

The 2019 study provides summary data on Oregon’s wine industry as compared to the 2016 results. The analyses estimate revenues, jobs and wages associated with all tiers of wine production, distribution and consumers. The report also shows how the “multiplier” effect from wine-related businesses and their employees spending their wages has changed since 2016 based on industry expansion, contraction and shifting consumer markets. Hundreds of industries in the state of Oregon are affected by Oregon’s wine industry and its economic impacts. It is important to recognize this report’s estimated data consider revenues and not profits; the costs of doing business continues to rise.  The effects of COVID-19 and wildfires in 2020 exacerbated cost pressures across the Oregon wine industry’s supply chain.

Because this report describes connections among core wine-industry and specific, allied industries, the key findings and other data within this report can be used for legislative and regulatory advocacy, business or government strategy, investment and academic applications.

View Economic Impact Study 2019 & 2020 Estimated (PDF) >>

Watch presentation of findings given at the 2021 Oregon Wine Symposium >>

Executive Summary

The sum of all economic activity in Oregon related directly or indirectly to wine is $7.2 billion as compared to 2016 when the sum was $5.7 billion (+27.1 percent).

Click infographic to enlarge

In 2019, estimated wine-related and induced jobs in Oregon totaled 40,047; related wages topped $1.5 billion in 2019 with wine-related and induced revenues of $5.7 billion.

  • Over 1,297 Oregon wine grape growers produced a crop whose total value in 2019 was $237.8 million.
  • Over 908 Oregon wineries or wine companies sold over 4.66 million, nine-liter (9L) equivalent units of wine and had revenues of over $673 million in 2019 from sales of packaged wine, with approximately 506 crushing grapes:
    • Approximately 57.6 percent of 9L equivalent units were sold through three-tier distribution in other states outside Oregon; and
    • Direct-to-consumer (DtC) sales were 21.9 percent of 9L equivalent units sold by all Oregon wineries in 2019.
  • Retail sales of wine in Oregon from all sources via all channels topped $1.199 billion in 2019:
    • These sales supported 3,380 jobs for wine shops and specialty retailers, 6,532 jobs in restaurants and other on-premise retail (including wine bars) and at least 405 jobs in distributors and importers.
  • Between 2016 and 2019, the impact of wine-related tourism increased by 13.6 percent, contributing $893.6 million in revenues to the Oregon economy in 2019, supporting 8,600 jobs and over $270 million in wages specific to wine-related travel in Oregon.
  • Wine-related activity in 2019 contributed over $184.2 million in state and local tax revenues for the state of Oregon, with approximately $88.5 million in property tax revenue (approximately 48.1 percent of total, estimated tax revenues).
  • Since the last report in 2016, growth and investment in the Oregon wine industry has expanded with approximately 6,960 new acres planted as of 2019.

 The effects of COVID-19 and fires and smoke in 2020 reduced the industry’s economic impact by an estimated 20.5 percent from the 2019 estimates to $5.7 billion on Oregon’s economy:

  • This study estimates that business revenues may have contracted by 19.9 percent from the 2019 estimates to $4.6 billion, jobs contracted by as much as 28.1 percent to 28,782 and wages by 22.9 percent to $1.1 billion.

View Economic Impact Study 2019 & 2020 (PDF) >>

Study Sponsor and Partners

The Oregon Wine Board sponsored this study. Official partners in this study were the Oregon Winegrowers Association, Oregon Wine Council and Willamette Valley Wineries Association.