Wine Drinkers and Winemakers Won Election for Obama

Is Wine Liberal?

The recent election gives us hints that it just might be. Of course that’s been label that wine has accumulated over the years; that it’s the beverage of the elite and a leftist beverage to boot. And while there are certainly a variety of other ways to interpret the demographics of wine, the liberal/conservative explanation has some legs when you consider the following.

Where is wine make?
Look at the map below and note those states that went blue (Obama) and which states are important winemaking states (those with black dots). Remove Texas from the equation and you note that it’s Blue states that are the primary or most important winemaking states. Now you might feel compelled to add Missouri to the list of important winemaking states, and perhaps even Illinois. But, those additions are a wash, aren’t they.

Where is Wine Shipped?
Recently ShipCompliant / Wines & Vines released a report on Winery-to-Consumer wine shipping for a 12 month period. In that report they show the top 10 states for where wine is shipped. Take a look at this map. With the exception of Texas, Georgia and North Carolina you again see Blue (Obama) states having the most wine shipped to consumers. One might note too that the election in North Carolina was very close and nearly became Blue state.

Which State’s Citizens Have the Most Wine Shipped Per Capita
Finally, look at the map below and consider those states where citizens have the most wine shipped to them on a per capita basis. Again, using information from the ShipCompliant / Wines & Vines recent wine shipping study we see that the 9 of the top 10 states are Blue (Obama) states. Coincidence?

So, shall we say it? Winemakers and Wine Drinkers won the election for President Obama!

 

Posted In: Uncategorized

Tags:


4 Responses

  1. Roger Beery - November 7, 2012

    This of course assumes that the same demographic that voted Democratic within a blue state is the same demographic that drinks wine…and has wine shipped to them… 😉

  2. Tom Wark - November 7, 2012

    Roger,

    Yes it does assume that, and a hell of a lot more. But it is fun.

    Tom…

  3. Joe - November 7, 2012

    Excellent analysis! My guess is that most light Budweiser drinking states voted Republican.

  4. Tom Wark - November 7, 2012

    Joe, I would love to see an analysis of heavy beer drinking states overlaid on an election map.


Leave a Reply