(OL) - More than 10 percent of Oregon wineries are strongly considering selling in the next five years, according to a study released Wednesday.

The number jumps to 31 percent for wineries that are "open to a sale under the right circumstances."

"If you're in the market for a winery as a commercial entity or a family business, there's never been a better time," said Rob McMillan, founder of Silicon Valley Bank's Wine Division and author of the report.

The current pace of ownership transitions is the highest the West Coast wine industry has ever seen, he said.

The West Coast wine industry's "growth phase" – the 1970s and 1980s – saw few sales, the report found.

"At the time," it says, "the dominant competitive issue for success was simply making good wine."

No longer. Skyrocketing vineyard land prices, increasing difficulty finding national distribution and an aging ownership population has more wineries than ever looking to get out.

By region, the highest number of wineries that are likely to sell are in Washington, where about 18 percent of the state's 800 wineries may be on the market within five years.

In Oregon, just under 12 percent of the state's 545 wineries fall into that category.

Other key findings in the report include:

• Almost half of the predicted winery sales will occur in businesses that produce more than 5,000 cases a year (the "average" Oregon winery produces about 5,000 cases a year).
• Winery sales are expected to be led by smaller wineries, "many of whose properties include personal residences, which represent a larger part of assets when compared with larger wineries.
• The number of wineries considering a sale is roughly split between commercial wineries and "lifestyle properties."