Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/122527
GRAPEGROWING New vineyards Target Wineries By: Size Location Production Details Sales Data New Wineries Since The Wines & Vines Online Marketing System (OMS) is a web-based application that lets you search all 8,099 North American wineries by specific criteria, and then export data into custom reports. Paso Robles continues to see vineyard expansion, mostly larger projects funded by companies from outside of the area. It is difficult for independent growers to obtain financing unless they have firm commitments for their fruit. Water development is becoming very expensive as new wells are drilled deeper and water quality is diminishing at lower depths in some sites. Deeper wells are likely to tap into active geothermal horizons that are unsuitable for irrigation. To counter water concerns, the most thoughtful new plantings have more drought-tolerant rootstocks, and vineyard layout is planned much more carefully by blocking areas with similar soil water-holding capacity and fertility. Paso Robles can be very sunny and hot. Fruit shrivel is a problem some seasons, so there is a trend away from VSP to a modified trellis, which has a cross arm that lets the foliage "flop" to provide some shading. Many vineyards also are using a vineyard latitude analysis and solar tracking to find the ideal row direction that allows foliage to shade fruit during the hottest part of the day. Other areas also have upgraded new plantings with higher densities, better rootstocks and clones. Winery-owned vineyards are being planted to produce high-quality fruit with modest yields. California's Central Coast wine industry is a diverse region in terms of climate, geology, terrain, wine grape varieties and wine styles. Challenges WinesVinesDATA Water quality and quantity are two issues that affect much of the Central Coast. It is a dry area where average annual rainfall is around 12 inches or less. There is growing concern about aquifer overdraft in the region, and static water levels have dropped in many wells. Paso Robles has many rural subdivisions where people built homes and put in what were adequate wells 20 years ago but are now going dry, needing to be lowered. Water quality can be challenging, and salt accumulation is obvious during some years, when winter rains fail to leach the soil profile. In 2012, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board proposed strict new regulations on growers who irrigate. The new regulations increased the requirements for compliance for most growers. While most vineyard operations are considered the least likely farming modes to cause water-quality problems, growers are still required to submit water-quality plans and conduct water monitoring in their wells or surface water. Smaller scale vineyard owners are feeling the regulatory burden as agencies continue to require more documentation, fees and inspections for growers to stay compliant. Labor is also cited as increasingly difficult to find—especially trained and skilled workers. Tighter border security, electronic verification of Social Security numbers and competition from other industries are definitely tightening the labor supply. Conclusions WINESANDVINES.COM/OMS 80 W I N E S & V INE S M AY 20 13 California's Central Coast wine industry is a diverse region in terms of climate, geology, terrain, wine grape varieties and wine styles. It is an exciting place where there is considerable experimentation, above-average wine quality, fairly abundant fruit and