(TDB) - Sales of Californian wines in the US reached a retail value of US$35.2 billion in 2017, climbing for the sixth consecutive year to its highest ever record, wines priced above $10 driving growth.

his represented value growth of 3% compared with the previous year, with the state shipping 241 million nine-litre cases across the US – an uplift of 1% by volume. Total shipments of both domestic and international exports totalled 278m.

“California wine sales in the U.S. market have grown 15% in the past decade from 209 million cases shipped in 2008 to 241 million cases in 2017,” said Jon Moramarco, founder and managing partner of BW166, and editor of the Gomberg-Fredrikson Report, which compiles annual analysis on behalf of the California Wine Institute. “Last year the growth mainly came from premium wines priced over $10.”

According to Moramarco, demographic trends play a significant role in wine sales, with wine sales growing in line with the legal drinking age population, which increased roughly 10% over the last decade, despite per capita consumption remaining flat.