KENTUCKY IS THE MOST "EXPENSIVE" STATE FOR WINE TAXES, AT 3.30 US DOLLARS A GALLON (3.7 LITERS). PORTLAND IN OREGON IS THE METROPOLITAN AREA BEST SUITED FOR WINE LOVERS, ACCORDING TO THE "TAX FOUNDATION "AND"INFOGROUP" STUDIES, ANALYZED BY WINENEWS

It is well known that the USA is the first frontier for Italian wine; it is absolutely the number one foreign market in value for Italy (1.35 billion in 2016 - a quarter of the 5.6 total, ed.). But the 50 American States are very different in terms of taxation and consumer styles. For instance, Kentucky has the highest taxes on wine, while Portland, Oregon's largest city, is the metropolitan area most suited for wine lovers. These facts were revealed in two studies, one from the "Tax Foundation" (updated to 2016, https://goo.gl/lGdehQ) and one from "Infogroup" (https://goo.gl/d1WpdX), analyzed by WineNews.
On the tax front, excise, specific taxes and so on, Kentucky, as mentioned, (the ranking does not take into account, however, the states with a monopoly on alcohol, ed.) is the most "expensive" at 3.30 US dollars per gallon (3.7 liters), followed by Alaska at 2.50, Florida 2.25, Iowa, 1.75 per gallon, and New Mexico and Alabama, 1.70. The most "economical" is Louisiana at just 11 cents per gallon, followed by California, the US wine capital, and Texas, at 20 cents, Wisconsin 25 cents, and Kansas and New York at 30 cents.
Among all the other winemaking states, there are also two of America’s most important winemakers, Washington, 87 cents per gallon, and Oregon, 67 cents. In Oregon, where the wine industry is flourishing thanks to Pinot Noir, there is the city of Portland and its metropolitan area, which between wine cellars and wine shops offers 1.545 options every 10.000 inhabitants, according to the ranking by Infogroup, a "big data" analysis company, which has linked the number of cellars and wine-related businesses with the number of residents in metropolitan cities of more than 1 million inhabitants. Next there is San Francisco, California, just a few miles from Napa Valley counting 730 wine-related businesses per 10.000 inhabitants, followed by Seattle, Washington State, at 712.
Number three on the ranking is also in California - Sacramento, another city very close to Napa Valley, at 690 options per 10.000 inhabitants, and then Rochester, in New York State, at 684, San Jose, California, at 466, while "The Big Apple", or New York City, is in position number 7, at "only" 397 wineries and wine stores for 10.000 inhabitants.
To close the "Top 10", the capital states, Washington DC, at 364, then Hartford, Connecticut, at 355, and Cincinnati, Ohio, at 343. Besides the ranking, some interesting trends emerged from the analysis of the data. For example, residents in wine-growing metropolitan areas have a tendency to travel (mostly overseas and cruises) more than in the beer-related areas for instance, and they also do more activities related to fitness, yoga and Pilates as well as preferring theater to cinema, and classical music concerts to other genres...