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August 2015 WINES&VINES 17 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS HAVE FUN WITH COLORS Introducing customizable glass closures. T h e m o s t s t yl i s h c lo s u re i n t h e wo rld a l s o b e c a m e t h e m o s t c re at ive o n e . T h e n ew d e s i g n p o s s i b i l it ie s let you c re ate a c lo s u re t h at i s j u s t a s u n iq ue a s you r p ro duc t . S e e m o re at www.vinoseal.cz O f f i c i a l D i s t r i b uto r fo r N o r t h A m e r i c a UP-Vinoseal-Ad-2.indd 1 30.06.15 14:48 Pinot Noir vines, but nothing sig- nificant. Winemaker Steven Urb- e r g r e p o r t e d i n J u l y t h a t everything looked good as the vineyard team worked to thin out the early crop and the clusters started véraison. "Coming off two large harvests, we have been extra careful this year to drop fruit to keep the crop load where we want it to produce the best quality," he said. Weather can always change the situation, but Urberg esti- mated the first pick for sparkling wine would take place July 31. Two of California's most im- portant growing regions, the North Coast and Central Valley, are moving in completely opposite directions. Prices continue to rise for grapes from Napa, Sonoma, Lake and other North Coast coun- ties but have been plummeting in the interior. "Last year we sold fruit (for) as low as $150 per ton in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV), up to $6,000 per ton in the North Coast.…Win- eries are not buying SJV wine grapes at this time, and if they are talking, it's not at prices that are sustainable for growers to con- tinue farming wine grapes," said Nat DiBuduo, president of the Al- lied Grape Growers, at the group's annual meeting held July 9 in Santa Rosa, Calif. Growers planted a few years ago when prices were high—some of them without contracts. "Today we are seeing contracts expire and not renewed. Wineries are indicat- ing they are still dealing with a backload of bulk wine and plenty of contracted grapes." As a result, many growers are selling or pulling out their vine- yards. One important factor is the strong demand for land suitable for nut crops in the San Joaquin Valley. DiBuduo said, "We believe up to 35,000 acres of grapes may be removed in 2015 for this rea- son, and two-thirds will be wine grapes." Steve Dorfman, a partner and trader with the Novato, Calif. based wine and grape brokerage The Ciatti Co., also remarked on the disparity between the North Coast and the San Joaquin Valley. The most recent Ciatti newsletter about the market referenced a "hangover of aging wine" that re- mains "a big problem for the Cali- fornia wine industry." That hangover is unsold, value-priced wine from the San Joaquin Valley, Dorfman said. Much of this wine came from the recent big harvests and consumer demand hasn't grown in step with the excess production. The "pie" of available wine is just a little too big for the market. Turrentine Brokerage presi- dent Steve Fredricks told Wines & Vines in mid-July that he thought the current bulk market was still around 20 million gallons, with perhaps just slightly more getting sold than added. He said wineries and other buyers are seeking qual- ity wine to sell at retail for more than $10 per bottle. Yields likely will be lower this year, but that will be offset by new acres, Fredricks said. He added there's a good amount of coastal wine available on the bulk market as well, so a smaller harvest won't affect the overall wine and grape market too much. "Because of the last few years people have been feeling like their inventory is an asset," he said. Fredricks said he's a little sur- prised by the continuing strength of Napa County Cabernet Sauvi- gnon, but he added one trend that's been reversed from last year is demand for North Coast Caber- net in general is not as strong. —Andrew Adams and Paul Franson " Last year we sold fruit (for) as low as $150 per ton in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV), up to $6,000 per ton in the North Coast." —Nat DiBuduo, Allied Grape Growers