California offers unparalleled scenic beauty along with the ideal climate, soil and landscape for growing high quality wine grapes. California's weather is consistently golden for wine grapes - warm, sunny days, cool nights and foggy mornings. For these reasons and many more, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed September as California Wine Month 2006, applauding the state's vintners and wine grape growers for their economic contributions and steadfast commitment to the highest standards of excellence. Retailers and restaurant tours will showcase California wines all month long. Look for special promotions at these locations: Safeway stores in 22 states, Cost Plus World Market, Beverages & More, Morton's of Chicago, P.F. Chang's China Bistro and the San Francisco Chronicle.

For more information about California Wine Month, see the Wine Institute's press releases below. We've also included some fun facts about California wines.
An Insider's Guide to California Wine Country
California Wine Families - The Next Generation
California-Style Wine Country Restaurants & Farmers' Markets
The Greening of California Wine Country

Top Wine-Consuming State
California ranks first in wine consumption in the U.S., followed by Florida, then New York.

Variety is the Spice of Life in the Golden State
There are 96 American Viticulture Areas (AVAs) in California. Each is a distinct winegrape growing area recognized by the U.S. government, a testament to the variety of microclimates in the state. California has 96 of the 172 AVAs established in the U.S. There are more tahn 60,000 registered California wine labels.

Sustainable Wine Practices Take Root
The trend in sustainable winegrowing and winemaking practices is growing quickly in California. Vintners and growers who represent 40 percent of the annual wine case production and one quarter (125,000) of the state's wine acreage currently participate in the Code of Sustainable Wine Growing Practices program.

Just How many Grapes are in that Bottle of Wine?
It takes about six to eight clusters, or approximately 600 to 800 wine grapes (2.4 lbs) to make a bottle of wine. One barrel of wine contains 740 lbs of grapes, equivalent to 59 gallons or 24.6 cases of wine.

California Wine is Good Business

Full Impact of California Wine in California	$51.8 billion
Full Impact of California Wine on the National Economy	$125.3 billion
California's Finished  Agricultural Product	Number 1
Number of Bonded Wineries	2275
Number of Grape Growers	4600
Wine Grape Bearing Acres	477 thousand
Wine Produced (750ml bottles equiv.)	2.7 billion
Retail Value of California Wine	$16.5 billion (Excludes exports and winery direct sales)
Full-time Equivalent Jobs	309,000 in California 875,000 in U.S.
Wages Paid	$10.1 billion California $1.8 billion Federal
Taxes Paid in California	$2.95 billion California $1.8 billion Federal
Taxes Paid in Other States	$2.9 billion State $5.2 billion Federal
Number of Visitors	19.7 million
Tourism Expenditures	$2 billion
Charitable Contributions	$115 million