VinIntell September 2015, Issue 25

COUNTRY PROFILES EASTERN US STATES OF , MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND COUNTRY PROFILES EASTERN US STATES

Forthcoming profiles of specific states – ●North Carolina • South Carolina • Virginia Country Profiles is an integral part of the South African industry’s business intel­ ligence. Based on this, SAWIS has decided to compile, in collaboration with WOSA, a number of country profiles to assist exporters. These profiles cover a wide range of topics, including background to marketing thoughts and topics for strategic, tactical and operational decisionmaking. The comprehensive profile is available on the SAWIS website

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION...... 3 2. DEMOGRAPHICS...... 4 3. PEOPLE AND SOCIETY...... 5 4. INFRASTRUCTURE...... 7 5. ENVIRONMENT...... 8 6. ECONOMIC SITUATION...... 9 7. AGRICULTURE...... 9 8. WINE INDUSTRY...... 10 9. CONSUMERS...... 13 10. CONCLUSION...... 15

2 1. INTRODUCTION New Jersey is ranked 47th of the 50 states Eastern Massa­chusetts is fairly densely pop­ that comprise the United States of America ulated and mostly suburban. In Western in terms of area. The total area of the state Massachusetts are the Connecticut River 22,610 km2, of which 14.9% is water, and Valley with its fairly even mix of urban enclaves 85.1%, is land. New Jersey spans 110 km (e.g. Spring­field, Northampton,) and rural at its widest, and 240 km in length. Due college towns (Amherst, South Hadley) and to its small size, New Jersey, which ranks the Berkshire Mountains, (a branch of the 11th in the nation in terms of population Appalachian Mountains) that remains mostly with 8,791,894 people, ranks first in popu­­­ rural. Massachusetts is one of the rising stars lation density. However, while this offers in the world of wine. The Bay State’s winer­ the impression that New Jersey is entirely ies and are catching the attention urban or suburban, it is not. Large swaths of wine lovers everywhere. Gathering from of north-western and southern New Jersey the diversity and steeped in the best of New are extremely rural. For example, Walpack England traditions, are hand crafted Township in Sussex County has a population with loving care from , fruit, berries, of 39 and an area of 67 km2. New Jersey is honey and flowers. Massachusetts’ the 7th largest wine producing state in the present a wide variety of wines to comple­ country with 6 million litres of wine (2012) ment a delicious spectrum of native foods. produced annually (approximately 716,000 Of the 40 licensed wineries in Massachusetts, cases). New Jersey wines consistently suc­ 36 produce wine and hard cider. These ceed in major wine competitions, including Massachu­­ ­setts wineries produce and sell double gold wins from multiple wineries at the product made from viniferous and cold hearty 2014 San Francisco Chronicle and Indiana­ grapes, as well as a variety of fruit including polis International Wine Competition. Most apples, cranberries, peaches and blueberries wineries welcome visitors for tastings, that are savoured by consumers across the tours and special events. Many wineries now Bay State and the country. offer shipping of their wines within New Jersey Most of Rhode Island is located on the main­ and into other states thanks to a 2012 law. At land of the United States. The official name the beginning of 2014, there were 50 licensed of the state is State of Rhode Island and wineries in the state. Providence Plantations, which is derived Massachusetts is the 7th smallest state in from the merger of two colonies. Rhode the United States with an area of 27,340 Island is bordered on the north and east by km2. Massachusetts is also the most Massa­chusetts, on the west by Connecticut populous New England state. Boston is and on the south by Rhode Island Sound Massachusetts’ largest city. Most Bay Staters and the Atlantic Ocean. It shares a narrow (4.4 million) live in the Boston area, which maritime border with New York State between cover most of eastern Massachusetts. Block Island and Long Island. Nicknamed the

3 Ocean State, Rhode Island has a number ley regions. Although Massachusetts has a of oceanfront beaches. Viticulture in Rhode humid climate, its climate is sunny compared Island began in 1663 when King Charles II of to other humid climates at the same latitude. England included wine production among the In Boston, the average percentage of pos­ land uses approved in the royal charter estab­ sible sunshine for every month is at least lishing Rhode Island as an English colony. The 50%. In summer and early autumn, the modern wine industry of Rhode Island began average percentage of possible sunshine in 1975 when Sakonnet Vineyards was estab­ is greater than 60%, according to National lished near Little Compton. Located near the Weather Service data. The hottest tempera­ Atlantic Ocean, Rhode Island has one of the ture recorded was 42.8 degrees Celsius. most moderate climates of the US northeast. • Rhode Island: Rhode Island has a humid cli­ mate, with cold winters and short summers. 2. DEMOGRAPHICS The average annual temperature is (10°C. At Area Providence the temperature ranges from an • New Jersey: 22,610 km2 average of -2°C in January to 23°C in July. In Providence, the average annual precipitation • Massachusetts: 27,340 km2 (1971 - 2000) was 118cm; snowfall aver­ • Rhode Island: 3,140 km2 ages 94cm a year. Rhode Island’s weather is highly changeable, with storms and hur­ Climate ricanes an occasional threat. • New Jersey: Southern New Jersey has a humid subtropical climate while a humid Natural resources continental climate prevails in the north­ • New Jersey: Garden State: forests, rivers, west, according to the Köppen climate streams, beaches, wetlands, estuaries, classification. New Jersey’s climate is vastly bays, and the ocean’ sand and gravel and affected by its proximity to the Atlantic granite. Ocean. The temperatures vary greatly from the northernmost part of New Jersey to the • Massachusetts: Fertile Connecticut River southernmost part of New Jersey: 31 de­ Valley soils, most rich in peat, deposits of grees Celsius in the middle to zero in north. sand and gravel, glacial stones and boul­ ders (granite, marble) are the most impor­ • Massachusetts: Massachusetts has a hu­ tant natural resources of Massachusetts. mid continental climate. Summers are warm, while winters are relatively cold, with aver­ • Rhode Island: Rhode Island’s natural re­ age January temperatures below freezing sources are not abundant. The best soil through­out most of the state. Generally, is found along Narragansett Bay. Excel­ Massachusetts’ hilly central interior (e.g. lent building granite is found in the south- Worcester) and its western Berkshire Moun­ western part of the state near the town tain region (e.g. Pittsfield) have colder winters of Westerly and is referred to as Westerly than its coastal and Connecticut River Val­ Granite.

4 3. PEOPLE AND SOCIETY Languages • New Jersey: English, Spanish, Italian, and French Creole are the most often spoken Total population languages. • New Jersey: 8,899,339 (2014) • Massachusetts: 79% of the state popula­ • Massachusetts: 6,745,408 (2014) tion speak English, 7% Spanish, 3.5% Por­ • Rhode Island: 1,055,173 (2014) tuguese, and 1% either French or Chinese. • Rhode Island: English, Portuguese, Spa­ nish, Creole / French.

Religions

New Jersey 54.70% of the people in New Jersey are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion. 37.62% are Catholic; 0.37% are LDS (Mormons); 2.81% are another Christian faith; 2.47% are Jewish; 0.82% are an eastern faith; 1.83% affiliates with Islam.

Massachusetts 57.24% of the people in Massachusetts are religious. 45.83% are Catholic; 0.39% are LDS; 2.58% are another Christian faith; 1.23% are Jewish; 0.62% are an eastern faith; 0.33% affiliates with Islam.

Rhode Island 54.81% of the people in Rhode Island are religious. 45.05% are Catholic; 0.38% are LDS; 1.55% are another Christian faith; 0.84% are Jewish; 0.23% are an eastern faith; 0.14% affiliates with Islam.

Age structure

Persons under Persons under Persons 65 years / 5 years 18 years over

New Jersey 6%, 2013 22.7%, 2013 14.4%, 2013 Massachusetts 5.5%, 2013 20.8%, 2013 14.8%, 2013 Rhode Island 5.2%, 2013 20.4%, 2013 15.5%, 2013

5 Urbanisation The three states’ urban population as a percentage of the total population (2010) is as follows: • New Jersey: 94.7% • Massachusetts: 92.0% • Rhode Island: 90.7%

Net migration • New Jersey: Domestic migration neutralised by international immigrants • Massachusetts: - 95,000 (2014) • Rhode Island: - 13,457 (2015) and tapering off to average -6000 per annum in foreseeable future.

Per capita income (12 months, 2013) • New Jersey: US$36,027 • Massachusetts: US$35,763 • Rhode Island: US$30,469

Main Ethnic groups

2013 White African Asian Latino, American Hispanic

New Jersey 57.6% 14.7% 9.2% 15.8%

Massachusetts 75.1% 8.1% 6.0% 8.1%

Rhode Island 75.3% 7.5% 3.3% 13.6%

6 4. INFRASTRUCTURE

Internet users

Internet users as a share of the population1

No No home Connect at Connect at Connect at connection connection, home only home and home and anywhere but (%) elsewhere: elsewhere: (%) connect 1 device multiple elsewhere (%) devices (%) (%)

New Jersey 26.5 4.1 26.0 10.7 32.6 Massachusetts 25.6 4.0 29.2 12.3 28.9 Rhode Island 27.8 4.6 29.1 12.4 26.2

Airports Ports and terminals

• New Jersey: With more than 40 public- • New Jersey: Port Newark, the Elizabeth- use airports and three commercial service Port Authority Marine Terminal and the New airports across the state, New Jersey is Jersey Port Authority Marine Terminal – sup­ accessible by air to just about any place porting more than US$36 billion in annual on the planet. business income. It is the third largest sea­ port in North America, and the largest mari­ • Massachusetts: Massachusetts has ap­ time cargo centre on the East Coast. proximately 42 public-use airfields, and over • Massachusetts: The Port of Boston in­ 200 private landing spots. The major airport cludes Cruiseport Boston and facilities in in the state is Logan International Airport. the Boston Marine Industrial Park in South The airport served 30.2 million passengers Boston, and others in East Boston and in 2014 and is used by around 40 airlines Charlestown. with a total of 103 gates. Logan Interna­ • Rhode Island: The Port of Davisville at tional Airport has service to numerous cit­ Quonset Business Park is Rhode Island’s ies throughout the United States, Canada, only public port, open to all shipping cus­ Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. tomers. The Port of Providence is made up • Rhode Island: Rhode Island has two com­ of six independently owned and operated mercial service – primary airports, four terminals. ProvPort is a non-profit organi­ commercial service – non-primary airports, zation charged with running the largest of one general aviation airport and one other these terminals, on the site of the former public-use airports. municipal Port of Providence.

7 5. ENVIRONMENT Current issues

New Jersey • Sustainable water • Managing greenhouse gas emissions • Increased reliance on non-polluting technologies such as solar and wind, clean-energy • Contaminants in fish • Ocean dumping • Biological diversity/integrity and endangered species • Pinelands and forest preservation • Wetlands protection • Watersheds and headwaters

Massachusetts • Adequate funding for state environmental programs • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions • Promoting alternative, green energy • Supporting compact, walkable communities with transportation and housing choices • Sustainable management of water resources • Land and species protection • Ensuring stewardship of urban and state parks • Reducing the use of toxic chemicals • Solid waste reduction and recycling

Rhode Island • Collaborative Action Plan to put 3.3 million zero emission vehicles on the roads by 2025 • Clean up Brownfield sites in eight locations • "Lots of Hope" program to focus on increasing the City's green space and local food production, improve urban neighbourhoods, promote healthy lifestyles and improve environmental sustainability • "School Siting Bill" that prohibits school construction on vapour intrusion Brownfield Sites where there is an ongoing potential for toxic vapours to negatively impact indoor air quality

8 6. ECONOMIC SITUATION Much of the economy of Rhode Island is based in services, particularly healthcare Gross State Product (GSP) and education. • New Jersey: US$560 billion Inflation rate (consumer prices, 2014) • Massachusetts: US$446 billion • New Jersey: 1.3% • Rhode Island: US$54,960 million • Massachusetts: 1.3% GSP – real growth rate • Rhode Island: 1.6% • New Jersey: 1.1% • Massachusetts: 1.6% 7. AGRICULTURE • Rhode Island: 1.4% Land use Industries • New Jersey: Food and agriculture are New • New Jersey: Agriculture (nursery stock, Jersey’s third largest industry. Productive horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, sea­ farmland covers 289 00 ha. Farmers in food, dairy products); Industrial (chemical the Garden State produce more than 100 products, food processing, electric equip­ different kinds of fruits and vegetables. In ment, printing and publishing), Tourism. addition, growers also produced hundreds • Massachusetts: Agriculture (seafood, nurs­ of thousands of dollars’ worth of specialty ery stock, dairy products, cranberries and crops. Vineyards are a growing segment of vegetables). As of 2012, there were 7 755 the industry, enabling the state’s vintners farms in Massachusetts encompassing to develop a wide variety of award-winning a total of 212 000 ha, averaging 27.3 ha New Jersey wines. There are 9 071 farms. apiece. Particular agricultural products of • Massachusetts: According to US govern­ note include greenhouse products making ment data 46% of Massachusetts land up more than one third of the state’s agri­ is devoted to forest. Another 7% is rural cultural output, cranberries, sweet corn and parkland, which is also mainly forested. apples are also large sectors of produc­ Urban and suburban development takes up tion. Massachusetts is the second-largest 36% of the state’s land, but even this land, cranberry-producing state in the union after outside of the main urban centres, consists Wisconsin; Industrial (machinery, electric largely of houses on wooded properties. equipment, scientific instruments, printing About 4% of the state’s land is cropland, and publishing), Tourism. and less than 1% is pasture. About 2% of • Rhode Island: Agriculture (nursery stock, the state’s land is marsh or other wetland. vegetables, dairy products, eggs); Indus­ The remainder of the land is taken up with trial (fashion jewellery, fabricated metal other uses, such as transportation. products, electric equipment, machinery, • Rhode Island: Total farm surface: 28,000 shipbuilding and boatbuilding), Tourism. ha (9% of total surface) with 1 243 farmers.

9 The richest soil in Rhode Island is found Mountains and the protected New York-New near the Narragansett Bay, a bay that blows Jersey Highlands region. These north-western warm winds across the state allowing for regions of the state have colder winters and a Rhode Island’s mild climate. Greenhouses, shorter growing season that proves challeng­ dairy products and aquaculture are among ing to winegrowers who must consider this the state’s top agriculture commodities. The in their selecting cold-hardy for cul­ average farm size is 22.5 ha. Top crops are tivation, and in their viticulture practices. The greenhouse/nursery, dairy products, aqua­ state’s 5 physiographic provinces therefore culture, sweetcorn and apples. offer a range of unique terroirs, climates and microclimates for production that is 8. WINE INDUSTRY reflected in the essence of the wine.

NEW JERSEY New Jersey’s farm wineries continue to grow in number with those wineries developing old and new varieties that work well in the state. Many of these wines are being recognised nationally and internationally for their quality and flavour, winning awards and prestigious wine competitions. The industry is the ability to successfully grow many variet­ ies of grapes because of the conducive conditions. It has three micro-regions designated as best-suited for growing, each an official American Viticulture Area (AVA). New Jersey is a geolog­ MASSACHUSETTS ically and geographically diverse region. Most Despite a difficult economic climate, the of the state has a humid mesothermal climate, Massachusetts wine industry grew, with both and southern New Jersey has sandy soils increases in production and sales. In 2010, and maritime climate affected by the Atlantic Bay State wineries hand-crafted and bottled Ocean with longer growing seasons and more over 510 000 litres of still, sparkling wine and sun exposure than the north. Northern New hard apple cider, compared to 422 000 litres Jersey, especially the north-western regions 2007, an increase of 21%. Some US$9.3 of the state, experience a humid continental million in sales were generated in 2010, an climate (microthermal) – a cooler climate due increase from US$7.8 million in 2007. Hard to its higher elevations in the mountainous cider production added over 113 000 litres and rocky terrain of the state’s north-western since the last survey, significantly contributing counties that are part of the Appalachian to the overall growth of the Bay State’s indus­

10 try. Direct sales to consumers represented approximately 66% of farm winery sales in Massachusetts. The remaining 34% of the sales were wholesale, part of the three-tier system of distribution in Massachusetts. A total of 26 wineries have tasting rooms Varietals produced and are open to visitors. Four Massachusetts • New Jersey: There are more than 40 va­ wineries produced over 37 000 litres each. rieties now growing in the state, from Pinot 16 Wineries produced between 1 800 – 4 000 Noir and in the North, to some litres. The remaining wineries produced less of the more popular Italian varieties such than 1 800 litres each. as Sangiovese and in the South including vinifera vines such as Cabernet RHODE ISLAND Sauvignon and , French Ameri­ The small state of Rhode Island has a tiny can Hybrids and Native American vines. wine industry with only 5 wineries that are New Jersey also has a Spanish winery that geared toward tourism, but that make both has Spanish varieties including Albernino red and white wines. and Tempernio. There are also fruit wines, blush wines, Ports, Ice wines, Spice wines, Area under vines Sangria’s and several Sparkling wines. • New Jersey: The state’s wineries and vine­ • Massachusetts: The most common grape yards dedicated 410 ha to the cultivation of wine varieties are the vinifera varieties Char­ grapes. Current estimates indicate that total donnay, , Riesling, Gewurztra­ area may increase by 50% - 100% in the miner, Pinot Blanc and followed foreseeable future. by the American Hybrids and • Massachusetts: Over 900 ha of open space Cayuga. There are also French hybrid vari­ are maintained with 180 ha devoted exclu­ etals like Seyval, and Marechal Foch. sively to grape or fruit production to make • Rhode Island: The 5 Rhode Island wineries wine. produce wines ranging from deep complex • Rhode Island: About 100 ha. reds to light and crisp .

11 Wine industry structure New Jersey wineries: New Jersey has address research, development and promo­ more than 50 licensed wineries. Some of tion of the New Jersey Wines Industry while the better known award-winning wineries are The Garden State Wine Growers Association Auburn Road Vineyards, of (GSWGA) is a coalition of member wineries Milford, and in Princeton, across the state of New Jersey. in Ringoes, Westfall Massachusetts Industry Bodies: Massa­ Winery, Heritage Vineyard, and 4 JG’s chusetts Farm Wineries & Growers Associa­­ Orchards & Vineyards of Colts Neck, Bellview tion which encourages consumer awareness Winery, Cape May Winery, Coda Rossa of of the handcrafted wines of Massachusetts Franklinville, and DiMatteo Vineyards in and then there is the New England Wine Hammonton Beneduce Winery. New Jersey’s Grape Growers’ Resource Centre. wineries generate between US$30 - US$40 Rhode Island Industry bodies: There are million of revenue annually. no industry bodies for wine in Rhode Island. Massachusetts wineries: There are about New Jersey Legislation: Legislatively, a 40 licensed wineries in Massachusetts. Most boost in sales has been experienced since of the wine grape vineyards and wineries are 2012 with the new law on sales. Wineries located in the southern half of the state, within must obtain licenses from the Alcohol and the boundaries of the South-eastern New Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the England AVA. The various regions are Cape US Department of the Treasury, and from the Cod, Martha’s Vineyard & Nantucket Island, New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Central Massachusetts, Greater Boston, Control. New Jersey laws and regulation North of Boston & Merrimack Valley, South regarding farm wineries require that a farm of Boston and Western Massachusetts. cultivate a minimum 1.2 ha of vineyards. The Rhode Island wineries: There are 5 win­ state is also looking to certify wineries and eries in Rhode Island. Near Cumberland is permit the marketing of certain wines under its Diamond Hill Vineyards. Known for its Pinot “Jersey Fresh” agriculture program based on Noir grapes, Diamond Hill also has a good their being produced with New Jersey grown reputation for fruit wines. South of Providence grapes. New Jersey law treats hard cider in Newport County, are three wineries: as a type of wine because it is made from Greenvale Vineyards, Newport Vineyards fermented fruits. Cider with less than 3.2% and Winery, and Sakonnet Vineyards. In alcohol by volume is untaxed, cider with 3.2% Rhode Island’s south-western coastal area, is to 7.0% alcohol is taxed at 15 cents per litre, Langworthy Farm Winery in Westerly. and cider with over 7.0% alcohol is taxed at New Jersey Industry bodies: The New 87.5 cents per litre. Jersey Department of Agriculture/New Jersey Massachusetts Legislation: In the begin­ Wine Industry Advisory Council (NJWIAC) ning of 2015, a number of new laws went awards grants for wine industry projects to into effect in Massachusetts. They include a

12 dollar increase to the minimum wage, which is 9. CONSUMERS now US$9 an hour in the state. Any business that wants to sell its wine in Massachusetts has to register with the state first, including a US$300 initial licensing fee. There have been 104 license requests, 34 of those have been approved. To date, the ability for farm wineries to sell directly to consumers through e-com­ merce has helped the wine industry. There are currently 13 wineries who offer direct shipping from their websites and which consider this an important success factor for their overall business. Out-of-state wineries can now ship wine directly to homes in Massachusetts. NEW JERSEY Rhode Island Legislation: All alcohol may An interesting article appeared in the be sold only in liquor stores. Bars may stay respected Journal of Wine Economics2, open until 2 a.m. in Providence only on Friday regarding the image of New Jerseyan wine. and Saturday nights and nights before a A Duke professor Robert H. Ashton(of the state-recognised holiday. No beer or wine Fuqua School of Business) has found that may be sold in grocery stores. In 2004, Rhode wine drinkers instinctively downgraded Island passed a law allowing liquor stores Jersey wines when told they were made in to open on Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. the Garden State, even though those same after Massachusetts lifted its ban on Sunday wine drinkers could not tell the difference sales earlier that year. In 2012, Connecticut between Jersey and California wines in a allowed its stores to begin selling liquor on blind taste test. It is simple because it is a Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The senti­ less familiar wine-producing location than ment is that legislation pertaining to wine California. When asked why they did not sales will become more aligned with states like the wines perceived to be from New in the region. In 2015, a temporary sales Jersey, participants in Ashton’s study used tax exemption for wine and spirits sold any­ such terms as “weaker,’’ “bitter,’’ “sour” and where in the state ended on 30 June 2015. “duller’’ – words used to describe California During that time, the existing “mandatory 6% wines “as often’’ as they were used to over-wholesale mark-up” was eliminated, so describe Jersey wines. There is limited win­ retailers were able to set their own prices. ery direct shipping. New Jersey residents The exemption was intended to help Rhode may have up to 12 cases of wine per year Island be more competitive with neighbour­ shipped to their home from small wineries ing Massachusetts, where sales of wine and making 946 000 litres of wine or less per spirits have been tax free since 2011. year. Retailer shipping is prohibited.

13 MASSACHUSETTS The opening of Massachusetts for direct ship­ ping is perhaps the most important change to the direct shipping market. It is estimated that within 3 years of opening for direct ship­ RHODE ISLAND ments on 1 January 2015, Massachusetts Rhode Island is one of the worst-ranked will vault into the top ten states by shipping states in the country for wine lovers, accord­ revenue and represent over US$60 million ing to a report from The American Wine in additional revenue for wineries that ship Consumer Coalition in Washington, DC. On due to the state’s population, its proximity to the ranks based on how friendly its wine important wine producing state/region and laws are for consumers. Rhode Island gained the per capita consumption of the state. an ‘F’ and ranked 44th overall, tied with Only 5 states have a higher per capita wine Massachusetts. Rhode Island law severely consumption rate than Massachusetts. At limits consumer access to wine. Direct ship­ 29 bottles (750 ml) of wine consumed per ping prohibited, with on-site exception: person annually (21.7 litres per capita), Bay Rhode Island residents may visit an out- Staters consume wine at more than a 50% of-state winery and have wine shipped to greater rate than the average state. For the them; however, it is illegal for a common overall winery-to-consumer shipping market, carrier (FedEx, UPS) to deliver wine in Rhode 0.213 bottles of wine per capita were shipped Island to anyone who does not have a valid in 2013. However, the top 10 winery-to- wholesaler license. Retailer shipping is pro­ consumer shipping states averaged 0.276 hibited. Rhode Islanders may not purchase bottles per capita. It is expected that by in grocery stores, nor may they have wine 2018, it will generate more than US$73 mil­ shipped directly to them from wineries or lion in wine shipments and rank 7th for value wine retailers. The result is severely limited of shipments among all legal states. Retailer access to a diversity of wines and significant shipping remains prohibited. inconvenience.

14 10. CONCLUSION New Jersey as the 7th largest wine pro­ Massachusetts together with amongst ducing state in the country with 6 million others, Alabama, Delaware, Indiana, litres of wine produced annually (approxi­ Kentucky,­ Massachusetts, Mississippi, mately 716 000 nine litre cases) does suffer Oklahoma, Pennsylvania,­ Rhode Island, from a negative perception from wine con­ Tennessee, and Utah however received sumers. New Jersey received a D for wine F grades and was the least friendly for wine consumer friendliness from the American drinkers due to their numerous restrictions Wine Consumer Coalition’s 2013 report and lack of access according to data from card.3 Another factor hampering growth the American Wine Consumer Coalition’s of popularity of New Jerseyan wines is the 2013 report card. negative reputation of its wines. This is set Rhode Island is slowly awakening to a wine to improve as accessibility improves and culture. It is notable that 16 restaurants in marketing efforts especially wine tourism the state have been recognized by Wine start paying off. Spectator magazine for having extraor­ Massachusetts’ wineries and vineyards dinary wine lists. Although there are only are catching the attention of wine lovers 5 estates, wine is certainly appreciated everywhere. Gathering from the diversity and coupled with the tourist industry is a and steeped in the best of New England growing industry. However, the legislative traditions, wines are hand crafted with lov­ environment is hampering growth in the ing care from grapes, fruit, berries, honey sector. Rhode Island received F grades and flowers. Of the 40 licensed wineries and is among the least friendly for wine in Massachusetts, 36 produce wine and drinkers due to its numerous restrictions hard cider. The changing legislative envi­ and lack of access according to data from ronment will probably see Massachusetts the American Wine Consumer Coalition’s becoming from drinker-friendly. At present 2013 report card.

ENDNOTES

1 www.governing.com/gov-data/internet-usage-by-state.html 2 The Journal of Wine Economics is a thrice-annual periodical devoted to “high quality, peer reviewed research on economic top- ics related to wine,’’ according to its web site. It is owned by the American Association of Wine Economists and published by Cambridge University Press. 3 www.wineconsumers.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/ConsumingConcerns4small.pdf

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Compiled, in collaboration with SAWIS, by Dr Marie-Luce Kühn, IBIS Business and Information Services (Pty) Ltd PO Box 7048, Stellenbosch 7599 Tel +27 21 883 2855 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.ibis.co.za

A SAWIS Publication. ©SAWIS, 2015

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