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20 WINES&VINES February 2017 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS T h e R e v o l u t i o n a r i e s B e h i n d Wi n e's Vi s i o n a r i e s For over 90 years, Gusmer has offered a full range of innovative enological tools that enable your creative expression through unique and interesting wines. Equipment, analytical instruments and processing aids brought to you from leading suppliers in the wine industry, all backed by strong Gusmer technical support. The options for expression have never been greater and the tools have never been better – so go ahead, be unique, express yourself. For more information, contact Gusmer today. West Coast : 81 M Street Fresno, CA 93721 Tel: 559.485.2692 Midwest : 1401 Ware Street Waupaca, WI 54981 Tel: 715.258.5525 The Wine Lab TM : 640-D Airpark Road Napa, CA 94558 Tel: 707.224.7903 East Coast : 1165 Globe Avenue Mountainside, NJ 07092 Tel: 908.301.1811 Gusmer Sonoma Store : 9025 Old Redwood Hwy, Ste E Windor, CA 95492 Tel: 707.836.1056 NOW OPEN YEAR-ROUND www.gusmerwine.com sales@gusmerenterprises.com Divergan F – PVPP Malolactic Bacteria, Non-Saccharomyces Yeasts Fermentation Nutrients OenoFoss - FTIR Analytical Instrumentation Filter Sheets, Lenticular Cartridges, Cellulose Pre-Coat Fibers Cross Flow Filters, RO Systems Liquid and Granular Enological Enzymes Oak-Mor®/ Oak Avantage® Chips and Granular Oak H2S Preventing Saccharomyces Yeasts Lysozyme French Oak At Gusmer, we know the wine you create is just as as you are. Membrane Cartridge Filters, Laboratory Consumables S anta Rosa, Calif.—The 2016 harvest in the North Coast was good—and in some cases may even have been remarkable—but demand has re- mained so strong since the short harvest of 2015 that the grape market remains tight. Speaking at the Sonoma County Winegrowers' annual Dollars & Sense conference held Jan. 12 at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Glenn Proctor, a partner with global wine and grape broker The Ciatti Co., said attendees could be justified in playing a little hard to get this year when it came to sell- ing their grapes. "The market is relatively tight," he said. Premiumization remains the big-picture trend, and just as de- mand increased for high-quality wine grapes to supply these higher priced wine programs, 2015 saw yields drop by nearly 30% in both Napa and Sonoma counties. The harvest also came in lower than normal in other coastal counties such as San Luis Obispo and Monterey. Yields in the interior valleys were normal to good in 2015, but demand for those grapes has softened. In 2016, the situation was reversed: good harvests on the coast with shorter yields in the interior. Yet the market for 2017 is look- ing similar to 2016, with strong demand and buyers out early try- ing to pin down the grapes they need. Current spot market prices for Sonoma County grapes in- clude: Chardonnay for $1,700- $ 2 , 7 0 0 p e r t o n ; C a b e r n e t Sauvignon for $2,800 - $3,800 per ton, and $2,700-$4,800 per ton for Pinot Noir. Proctor also revealed some insights from Ciatti's annual sur- vey of its clients about their grape and wine needs for the coming year. He said Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are the most sought after grapes with Zinfan- del the least needed, possibly the result of a shift in the market to- ward red blends. Another Ciatti partner, Chris Welch, followed Proctor and said the current bulk wine market is "overall balanced statewide." He said Russian River and So- noma County Chardonnay is fetching high prices with wineries also seeking wine from Monterey and Lake counties to blend down costs or improve California ap- pellation programs. Sauvignon Blanc is in short supply, and Welch said there's large demand for the varietal. There's not as strong demand for bulk Zinfandel, and Welch said Pinot Noir continues to be highly sought after. Welch said the market may have seen its peak for Napa Cabernet. —Andrew Adams Wine Grape Broker Warns Market Already Tight for 2017 Glenn Proctor of The Ciatti Co. gives an update about the 2017 grape market during the Sonoma County Winegrowers' Dollars & Sense event. GEORGE ROSE