Wine industry doubles its economic impact through tourism

Colorado

The fast-growing Colorado wine industry released an economic impact study jointly with Colorado State University last May showing that wine tourism and related activities double the impact on the state's economy provided by grape growing and wine making.

Since the Colorado Legislature created the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board during the 1990 session, the wine industry in our state has chalked up nearly 900 percent growth, in excess of 20 percent averaged annually, based on Department of Revenue Figures for wine excise taxes. That compares with a 4 percent average annual growth rate, or 175 percent cumulative growth, over the same period for all wine sold in Colorado. Many people don't realize that Colorado is capable of growing wine grapes or that the wine industry is the fastest growing segment of agriculture in Colorado.

Coupled with rapid growth, the wine industry brings significant tourism dollars into the areas where wineries are located. CSU's Business School and the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics provided the Wine Board with an economic impact study of the wine industry during 2005-2006. That study determined that grape growing and winemaking alone contributed $21.1 million during the 2004-2005 fiscal year when Colorado wine sales were estimated to be $11.8 million. During the 2005-2006 fiscal year which ended in June 2006, Colorado wine sales were estimated at just over $14 million.

CSU's study also found that wine tourism brought in $20.6 million during the same time period. The Colorado Mountain Winefest, held the third weekend of every September in Palisade and Grand Junction, generated $2.5 million during one weekend in 2005. And wine tourism is becoming a more significant component in many other regions outside the Grand Valley, as shown by tourism promotions in Delta County (www.westerncolorado.org/), wine festivals in the Four Corners area (www.mesaverdecountry.com/tourism/winefest.html) and the integration of Colorado wines into other tourist attractions such as the Royal Gorge Train (www.royalgorgereservations.com/news.aspx).

Besides the almost $42 million of economic impact, the Colorado wine industry boasts 65 wineries up and down the Front Range, in the mountains as well as on the Western Slope. Eight hundred fifty acres of the European wine grape varieties (vitis vinifera) are planted around the state, concentrated mostly in the Grand Valley.

The next time you order a bottle of wine in a restaurant, ask for Colorado wine and make a contribution to the economic growth of agriculture in Colorado.

For more information visit www.coloradowine.com. The entire economic impact study is available at www.coloradowine.com/pdf/EconImpact2006.pdf.

Date: 11/21/06

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