About the California Wine Market Index™

The California Wine Market Index™ (CWMI) is an independent economic benchmark designed to provide a consistent measure of long-term conditions within California’s wine-grape economy.

Using verified statewide market data, the CWMI brings production, pricing, and grower revenue information into a standardized historical framework. Using 2000 as the base year (Index = 100), the CWMI provides a common reference point for evaluating how statewide wine-grape market conditions change over time.

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Mission

Our mission is to provide California’s wine industry with an independent, transparent, and consistent benchmark for understanding long-term changes in the wine-grape market. Different participants may use the benchmark differently, but all benefit from having a common historical reference for statewide market conditions.

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Who the CWMI Serves

The CWMI serves as a resource for vineyard owners and growers, wineries, agricultural lenders, researchers, educators, investors, industry organizations, and policymakers.

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An Outcome-Based Benchmark

The CWMI measures market outcomes rather than attempting to assign causes to individual market movements.

Climate variability, weather events, consumer demand, winery inventory, production decisions, exports, labor conditions, and broader economic forces may influence California’s wine-grape economy. These factors are reflected in the CWMI only to the extent that they affect the verified statewide market data incorporated into the benchmark.

This outcome-based approach helps preserve methodological consistency, transparency, and comparability across reporting years.

Built With Industry Perspective

The development of the California Wine Market Index™ includes dialogue with vineyard owners, growers, wineries, researchers, financial professionals, and other participants in California’s wine industry.

Stakeholder participation helps the CWMI identify information gaps, evaluate practical applications, and establish priorities for future research. Industry feedback contributes perspective and market context while the methodology and official benchmark remain independently maintained

Become a CWMI Stakeholder

We are inviting a limited number of California wine-industry participants to review the developing benchmark and provide practical feedback before its broader release.

Independence & Transparency

The California Wine Market Index™ is designed as an independent market benchmark. The CWMI does not represent the commercial interests of any individual vineyard, winery, region, association, or market participant.

Benchmark methodology, data sources, definitions, and historical results are documented to support transparency, consistency, and independent review.

California Wine Market Index™
Independent Benchmarking for California’s Wine-Grape Economy