Washington's wine and grape industry contributes $3 billion to the state's economy and $4.7 billion to the national economy each year.

A new study commissioned by the Washington Wine Commission and the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers showed staggering growth in the state's wine industry since 1999.

The study, completed by MKF Research LLC in California, measured the full economic impact of the wine grape and juice grape industries for employment, agricultural statistics, product revenues, taxes and other sectors.

It found that the number of wineries increased from 160 in 1999 to 534 in 2006 and winery revenues jumped 51 percent in that same period, from $289 million to $436 million.

"As the second-largest producer of premium wine in the U.S., this study further illustrates that Washington wine is a marquee industry for the state," said Robin Pollard, executive director of the Washington Wine Commission.

Pollard released the study results Thursday at the annual meeting of the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers in Kennewick. Pollard said the commission had a good sense of the significant growth spurt the industry has seen, because it tracks the number wineries and grape growers in the state.

Consider this: In 1987, winemakers in Washington produced 3.6 million gallons of wine. In 2006, they made nearly 20.1 million gallons -- about 3 percent of the nation's total.

That's just a blip compared to California wine producers, who made 576 million gallons in 2006. But Washington's gaining on them.

And the impact the state's wine industry has on the national economy is eye-opening, as is the number of tourists it is attracting.

According to the study, 350,000 visitors who traveled to Washington in 1999 were "wine tourists." In 2006, the number of wine tourists jumped to 1.7 million -- a 385 percent increase.

"They are staying in our hotels, eating out, buying wine, and it all really adds up," said Pollard.

In 1999, wine tourists spent about $18.9 million. In 2006, they spent $237.6 million.

Every bottle of wine purchased at a local winery doesn't only help the local economy, it also adds up to big tax dollars on the state and federal side. In 2006, the industry contributed $145.2 million to the state coffers, and $196.9 million to the feds.

In addition, the industry provided about 19,000 jobs across the state in 2006, with a payroll reaching $579 million. That's a 73 percent increase in jobs since 1999, when there were 11,000 workers in wine-related jobs, and a 65 percent increase in the payroll, which was $350 million in 1999.

Grape growers have contributed significantly to those numbers. The number of grape farms has increased 30 percent to 325 in 2006 -- growing 57,000 acres of grapes.

"Washington state's perfect climate for grape growing combined with innovative viticultural practices and vineyard development will continue to be a rapidly growing sector of Washington's agricultural economy," said Vicky Scharlau, executive director of the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers. "The state is producing a large variety of wines of premium quality and we expect that to have a ripple effect of economic benefits for the state and nationwide."

Pollard said the study will be posted on the Wine Commission's website in the future.