(TheDrinksBusiness) - Virginia has set its sight’s on one day becoming the “wine capital” of the Eastern US.

Speaking to the drinks business, Todd Haymore, Virginian secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, said: “We know we’ll never be as big as California but can we be the wine capital of the East Coast? I think so, yes.”

He began by revealing the latest figures for the Virginian wine industry, which show that the state is now the fifth biggest wine producer in the country (behind California, Oregon, Washington and New York), producing six million bottles a year and generating US$750 million in income.