Exports of American wine rose 14.9per cent last year to a total of 7.2 million gallons, the Wine
Institute said.
    The San Francisco-based promotional group said 95 per cent
of the exported wine was from California and the top three
markets were Canada, Japan and Britain.
    Japan, which edged out Britain as the leading importer of
American wines in 1985, continued in second place.
    Canadian imports rose 3.2 per cent to 2.6 million gallons;
Japan, 9.9 per cent to 1.2 million gallons, and Britain, 20.2
per cent to 962,360 gallons.
    A spokesman for the institute said the declining value of
the dollar and strong promotional efforts on the part of the
California wine industry contributed significantly to the
increased shipments.
    The 1986 wine exports were valued at 34.7 mln dlrs, up from
27.6 mln dlrs the previous year.              
 Reuter
