With all our amazing wine regions here in California, including Napa and Sonoma Valleys, it’s not surprising to learn that this state leads the nation in homes for sale with wine cellars and other wine amenities. What is surprising is that Orange County, California has the most homes for sale featuring wine storage, and Napa and Sonoma Valley didn’t even make the top 10 list.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a recent analysis looked at the percentage of 2014 for-sale home listings that included a wine related feature. Roughly 2.4% of the listings in Orange County included wine information, which is more than 10 times the amount as Cincinnati, where only 0.2% of the home-listings featured a wine-related amenity. Meantime, St. Louis, a city known as a beer town, made the top 10 — in 8th place — with 1.4% of all home listings mentioning a wine cellar, wine room or wine fridge.
According to the Wine Institute — the largest advocacy and public policy association for California wine, and the only group representing the industry at the state, federal and international levels — in 2013 the U.S. surpassed France and became the world’s largest wine market. We drink 892 million gallons of wine annually in the U.S., or about 2.8 gallons per person.
Other California localities that dominate the top of the list include San Francisco, Ventura County, Los Angeles, and San Jose all making the top 10. Leading the list of underperformers is Las Vegas, which ranks 96 out of the 100 markets analyzed. New York City, meanwhile, places 15th.
If you are considering selling or buying a luxury home, estate, vineyard or winery in Napa Valley or Sonoma Valley that includes some of the most luxurious wine cellars and other wine amenities in the world, please call me at 707-738-4820 or email me at [email protected]. Meantime, please be sure to LIKE me on Facebook so you can stay informed too!
