Ingram's June 2022

several more scheduled to open in the near future. Now is a very exciting time for the Show Me wine industry.” What can that mean for the states? Plenty. With more than 165 winer ies inMissouri and about three dozen in Kansas, the direct and indirect impact of wine alone runs in the billions—$3.2 billion in Missouri and nearly $868 million in Kansas. Those enterprises account for more than 21,000 jobs and more than $156 million in federal, state and local taxes. Given that those figures don’t in clude similar revenue streams from breweries and distilleries, it’s easy to see why state officials are excited about the prospects for growth within the ag ritourism space. “Destination development and tour- ism are critical economic development activities,” says David Toland, the sec retary of commerce and lieutenant governor of Kansas. “When people visit one of these attractions, they’ll also dine at our local restaurants, stay at local hotels and shop at local stores. All this brings new dollars to our com munities and helps showcase the great places we have to live, work and play across Kansas.” VINE POWER | Though a relative newcomer at just over 50 years old, St. James Winery is the state’s largest. It’s 180 acres of vines account for more than 10 percent of Missouri’s 1,700 total acres planted to grapes.

Grape and Grain: The Bistate Impact

Various state offices and industry associations report licensing and membership in different ways, but here are numbers that tell the story of winery, brewery and distillery industry health in Missouri and Kansas:

MISSOURI 150 craft brewers

KANSAS 66 craft brewers 23 wineries 11 distilleries Related Jobs: 4,702 Combined Taxes: Nearly $100 million in federal and state taxes

165 wineries 52 distilleries Related Jobs: 16,435 Combined Taxes: Hundreds of millions in federal and state taxes

More than 900,000 Wine-Related Tourists Annually in addition to more than a quarter-million other visitors enjoying craft breweries and distilleries.

“There’s plenty of room for local stuff in this market,” Fordham says, “and I know a lot of people in that space—everybody seems to be do ing fairly well. Consumers are pretty open to new things, and I see a lot of local brands. Kansas City is big enough where that works, and people from out of town want to try the local flair.” Anderson’s metrics for Missouri wines alone show the economic po tential for agritourism. Among those 875,000 annual visitors, more than half came from out-of-state before the pandemic arrived in 2020. Curiously, that number spiked to 66.6 percent last year before returning to more historic norms through the first half of 2022. But whether they come to Missou ri wine country from in-state or are drawn from out of state, the numbers are likely to increase, he believes. “There is still considerable room for growth within the industry for current and new wineries,” Anderson says. “Existing wineries are adding new products like canned wine products, expanded tasting, and experiential offerings. Several new wineries have opened in the past 12 months, with

WHISKEY-PLUS | At J. Rieger & Co. in Kansas City, what started as a revival of a whiskey- distilling tradition has blossomed into other product lines including gin and vodka.

The growth across the sector, Ford hamsays, is turning out a quality product. Enhancing prospects for success is the fact that the variety of products is, quite literally, limited only by the imagina- tions of brewers, vintners, and distillers.

18

I n g r a m ’ s

June 2022

Ingrams.com