VIRGiNIA WINE INDUSTRY JOBS GROW

Friday, February 3, 2012
by Associated Press

Governor Bob McDonnell has announced that a newly released economic impact study shows that Virginia's burgeoning wine industry contributes almost three-quarters of a billion dollars - or $747 million - annually to Virginia's economy, an increase of 106 percent over the figures from the last economic impact study conducted in 2005. The number of wineries increased from 129 in 2005 to 193 in 2010, a 49 percent increase. The number of full-time equivalent jobs at wineries and vineyards rose from 3,162 to 4,753, a 50 percent increase, and wages from jobs at wineries and vineyards increased from $84 million to $156 million, an 86 percent increase, during the same time period.