If you didn’t receive the wonderful book Washington Wines & Wineries, The Essential Guide over the holidays, here is another reason why you should buy it yourself. The book is full of fascinating factoids about the Washington wine industry.

Frankly, I thought I knew a fair amount about the industry, because I’ve written about Washington wine since 2007. But as I was turning the book’s pages, I kept saying “Dave, did you know this?” or “Dave, listen to this!” (He found the information captivating too, so he didn’t mind that I interrupted his reading of another book, thankfully.)

Here are just a few of the factoids in Paul Gregutt’s second edition of his book. There are many more, and Paul’s tone is so conversational that you don’t even realize you’re being educated while reading a great story.

• National sales of Washington state wines increased 9.1 percent by value and 6.8 percent in volume in 2009, compared to the previous year – figures well above the national averages.
• Washington has seen five straight exceptional vintages following the freeze of 2004.
• MFK Research estimated that tourists who visited Washington wineries in 2006 spent more than $237 million, up from just $8.9 million in 2000.
• In that same period, the number of visitors increased fivefold, from 350,000 to more than 1.7 million.

By the way, this information is all revealed in the Preface; it’s just a taste of the many interesting facts, stories and opinions throught this book.

My suggestion – check out Paul’s website to find out when and where he’s signing books. Or go to Amazon and purchase the book online.

You will have hours and hours of reading pleasure. You can find more in my previous post, The Essential Guide is the Perfect Gift.

Cheers!