For those interested in Washington wines and the WA wine industry, a report sponsored by the WA State Wine Commission on the economic impact of the Wa wine industry just came out. Amidst all the normal hype and self promotion in these kinds of document, there is some interesting data, such as the growth of certain varieties and vines planted over the years and the top heavy nature of the WA wine industry (a few big players still dominate).
Here's one quote i found interesting:
"Acreage devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon accelerated passed that [sic] of Merlot in 1996, at about the same time that planting of White Riesling began to overtake Chardonnay. Washington’s planting of Syrah grew rapidly from 1996 through 2005, but may have been planted “ahead of the market”, in the words of one producer, a over-enthusiasm found in much of the West Coast. One of the more interesting trends has been the gradual increase in the “Other Reds” category, from about 3.8% of total red wine grape production to about 5.8% of red wine production, with the growth of Malbec, which had been included in “other” until 2007, particularly noticeable in both price and total".
http://www.washingtonwine.org/_assets/managed/files/14984_The%20Economic%20Impact%20of%20Washington%20State%20Wine%20and%20Grapes.pdf