Joseph Rollo, international
director of the Wine Institute, believes, "Export sales were challenging
in 2000 because of the strong U.S. dollar and increasing competition.
However, exports to our largest markets, the United Kingdom and
Canada, remained strong, and the high-quality, cutting-edge image
that California wine has established continues to drive sales in
all markets."
The $144 million in
sales to the United Kingdom in 2000 was tops among U.S. wine export
markets, with Canada accounting for $105 million. Others in the
top five included the Netherlands with $77 million, Japan with $69
million and Switzerland with $24 million.