Visualizing California's wine production

The top wine-producing countries in the world

Three European countries dominate the world in wine production: France, Italy, and Spain. This table lays out how the world's top wine-producing countries compare in terms of annual volume, with Europe and the United States comprising the bulk of production. Visualize the country-by-country difference with this bar graph.

The numbers on US wine consumption

Ever wonder how much wine the average American drank in 1949? Wonder no more! The answer is 0.89 gallons. That’s way less than 2022, where the number has quadrupled to 2.86 gallons. Check out this simple table that tracks average United States wine consumption from 1934 through 2022, by individuals and as a whole. American wine consumption peaked during the early pandemic but has lessened since then.

Napa produces only 4% of California's wine

Despite its reputation, the Napa Valley has a modest share of its state's annual wine production. The valley's over 400 wineries produce only 4% of the state’s wine.

Canada is the largest foreign buyer of California wine

Tariffs have impacted the wine industry in Canada significantly, given that California winemakers are responsible of 80% of the country's wine supply.

There's a legal loophole behind California Champagne

In the late 19th century, sparkling wine production took root in California before France began the fight to own the term “Champagne.” Many American winemakers already used it for easy recognition. The battle continued for over a century before reaching an agreement in 2005, stipulating that American sparkling wine couldn’t be labeled as Champagne unless the producer was already calling it such.

American beer, by the numbers

This statistics-focused resource breaks down the shape of the beer industry in the US, outlining the amount of beer produced by American breweries, the state cranking out the most beer, and the states with the most breweries per capita.

Santa Barbara County features seven designated wine regions

Grapes are notoriously fickle about where they grow and cannot be cultivated just anywhere. That’s what makes the county’s seven American Viticultural Areas so unique and cool—from the Santa Ynez valley to the Los Olivos District.

US state economies compared to entire countries

This map compares US state economies by their gross domestic product to that of a similarly sized country. For instance, California has the largest state economy in the US, with a GDP nearly equal to that of India, the fifth-largest economy in the world. Click here to see how the rest of the states compare.

Ranking the best of Napa's wine

Want to see how different Napa vintages stack up against one another? This Wine Spectator chart covers every Napa vintage since 1991. It gives each year an overall score, has notes about the conditions that affected the harvest and production, and gives suggestions for some of their top-scoring bottles. If you’re interested in building a long-term wine collection, it also notes which vintages might be best to age.

View a breakdown of worldwide oil production since 1900, mostly led by the US

When analyzing the production of crude oil, shale oil, oil sands, and condensates since the start of the 20th century, Saudi Arabia produced more crude oil only in 1977, from 1979 to 1981, and from 1991 to 2016. Nations such as Iraq and the United Arab Emirates produced much smaller quantities than both Saudi Arabia and the US.

California is one of the world’s 35 biodiversity hotspots

The state comprises the hotspot known as the California Floristic Province, where roughly 3,000 species of vascular plants grow—roughly three-fifths of which are found nowhere else in the world (also known as endemic).

Side-by-side shots of once-dry California lakes now filled

In late 2022, much of California was in drought; by early 2023, after a series of downpours from atmospheric rivers, much of the state's reservoirs had been re-filled. See the dramatic difference in this series of photos.

Mapping where pumpkins are harvested in the US

Roughly 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin are sold in the US every year, with 80% of that available in the month of October. See which states are the biggest producers in acres, starting in Illinois where over 16,000 acres of the gourd are harvested...

In 2022, the US exported more than 450,000 metric tonnes of cheese worldwide

That same year, the US cheese export market was valued at $2.3B. The main consumer markets for the US were Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and Canada. Mexico was the largest importer of US cheese, with 87% of its cheese imports coming from its neighbor.

A quick guide to rosé wine

What is a rosé? Rosé wines are technically reds, though they’re typically served cold and have more flavor characteristics in common with white wines. This primer explains the basics of the fastest-growing wine category in the US. It covers production and rosé-making regions and styles, along with some common tasting notes for each bottle.

The US produces far more waste and recycles far less of it than other developed countries

The US represents just 4% of the world’s population, but it produces 12% of global municipal solid waste. In comparison, China and India make up more than 36% of the world’s population and generate 27% of that waste.

View hourly electricity demand and generation across the continental US

This dashboard maps data from the high-voltage bulk electric power grid based on information from regional electricity balancing authorities. Users can also chart data for up to the past 31 days to observe how forecasted demand compares with actual demand and generation.

A statistical breakdown of the global film industry

Dive into this collection of stats and infographics explaining the current state of both Hollywood and the global film industry. The page covers a variety of topics, including independent film production, box office revenue, global film markets, movie-going demographics and more. It also addresses the relatively new phenomenon of home video streaming.

A 1927 map shows where Paramount shot its many productions

The skeleton key of California identified in-state locations that would substitute for shooting films abroad. It includes some interesting choices, like establishing Wales along the Los Angeles coast.

View a map of America's regional pizza styles

It may all be pizza, but it's not all the same. From California to New York and from Quad City-style to Old Forge, this interactive map of the US lets you see the country's different takes on the classic dish.

Explore the water footprint of producing various proteins, fruits, and vegetables

This interactive gallery highlights the various types of water behind the production of biofuels, foods, and materials such as cotton. Diets high in bovine meat, whose production requires 15,415 liters of water per kilogram (1,847 gallons per pound), are among the most water-intensive, whereas every kilogram of vegetables uses 322 liters of water (39 gal/lb) to produce.

Explore a comprehensive archive of US presidential election data

This University of California, Santa Barbara archive compiles presidential election data from 1789 to the present, including popular vote totals, turnout figures, and contextual resources that explain how the electoral process and political landscape have evolved.

3 US maps illustrate transplants, donors, and organ waitlist additions—by state

National UNOS tracking data feeds into these US maps that record all the transplants, donors, and waitlist additions in the last 12 months. California, for example, had the most transplantations in 2025—totaling about 5,200—but it also has the longest waiting list, with more than 20,000 additions in that same period.

US immigrants shifted from primarily originating in Ireland and Germany to Mexico and India

This visualization tracks the top country of birth among US immigrants by state from 1850 to the present, revealing a dramatic shift from European-dominated immigration to today's prominence of Mexican and Indian immigrants.

In 2023, self-driving cars drove 3.3 million miles on California's roads

According to the state's DMV, the mileage represented a fivefold increase from the previous year. General Motors' Cruise and Alphabet's Waymo accounted for the bulk of miles, though 38 companies have received permits to test autonomous vehicles in the state.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.