Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/732978
October 2016 WINES&VINES 75 WINE EAST WINE INDUSTRY NEWS What's in the Package? Bill Lutz, Founder, Waterloo Container • Customer service before and after the sale • Experience to solve your problems • Extensive expertise in the wine packaging industry • Personalized inventory management and delivery planning • Package Branding Solutions 888-539-3922 • waterloocontainer.com Drought Impacts New York Grape Harvest; Prices Released G eneva, N.Y.—The major w e a t h e r p r o b l e m f o r grapegrowers in the Fin- ger Lakes in 2016 has not been low winter temperatures but a severe lack of rainfall. According to Hans Walter-Peterson, viticul- ture extension specialist at Cor- nell Cooperative Extension, the Finger Lakes region has received 40% of normal rainfall since April 1. The full impact of the dry con- ditions won't be known until the end of harvest, but initial berry samples indicate that there is close to normal ripening, while acidity levels are down. The good news is that New York vineyards have had very little disease pres- sure, and many growers have been able to reduce the number of sprays from 10-12 per season to six or seven sprays. Walter-Peterson furnished the list of prices paid for grapes in the Finger Lakes region for the 2016 harvest. New York state wineries that purchase more than 5 tons of any grape variety are required to publish the prices they will pay for grapes. Some of the prices re- ported are what wineries pay for their own grapes, while others are contracted prices between grow- ers and wineries. This year marks the first time in several years that the price of grapes rose for a majority of Fin- ger Lakes grapes. A total of 37 varieties went up, while 15 were flat (the average price was within 0.5% of the price in 2015), and only eight went down. Cabernet Franc, which rose 1.7% in 2015, increased 12.4%, from $1,400 to $1,573 this year. Among the hy- brids, Chancellor had the largest increase in price (12.8%), and for the first time in many years, eight of the nine native American variet- ies rose in price. —Linda Jones McKee 2016 FINGER LAKES GRAPE PRICE SURVEY 2015 Average Price Per Ton 2016 Average Price Per Ton Percent Change Baco Noir $602 $597 0.8% Cabernet Franc $1,400 $1,573 12.4% Cabernet Sauvignon $1,600 $1,700 6.3% Catawba $325 $328 0.9% Cayuga $541 $572 5.7% Chambourcin $781 $810 3.7% Chardonnay $1,294 $1,377 6.4% Concord $271 $302 11.2% Gewürztraminer $1,550 $1,688 8.9% Maréchal Foch $656 $646 1.5% Merlot $1,733 $1,872 8.0% Niagara $313 $318 1.7% Pinot Noir $1,788 $1,817 1.6% Riesling $1,553 $1,627 4.8% Seyval $613 $617 0.6% Valvin Muscat $850 $856 0.7% Vidal Blanc $638 $641 0.4% Vignoles $771 $809 5.0%