Organisational structure of wine production in the US

Abstract

In recent decades the US wine industry has experienced significant increases in production, employment, establishments and value added, especially in California. This trend is related to increased demand for mass market wines and high value‐added quality wine. The recent boom is the third in a series of profit cycles dating from the last century, but it differs in that it is situated in a global trend toward the concentration of production and distribution of wine by large, vertically and horizontally integrated organisations. The US industry exhibits a bifurcated corporate structure dominated by a few mass market producers and many specialist producers. Different forms of corporate organisation are described, and the structure of the industry is historically developed.