Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/840286
July 2017 WINES&VINES 15 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS F resno, Calif.–A May re- port issued by Allied Grape Growers (AGG), the cooperative of 500 California wine, table and raisin grape growers, was rich in in- sider background and predic- tions regarding the upcoming 2017 harvest. AGG president and CEO Nat DiBuduo said the organization expects an average to short crop. Although new California vine plantings have been ongoing throughout the state during the drought years, growers in the San Joaquin Valley have pulled out thousands of acres. "The older acreage was not sustainable: planted with old spacing, without good production or pricing," he said. "The farmers' enticement was almonds or other crops, which can bring three times the income of those older vines." The National Agriculture Sta- tistics Service, which published the 2016 Grape Acreage Report, uses standards that consider vines won't be productive until the fourth year, although new technol- ogy is changing the standard: So- called UberVines make third-year production feasible for some newly planted vines. "You can't always use the standard," DiBuduo said to clarify part of why AGG's acreage report differs from the USDA numbers. Newly in-demand varieties in- clude Chenin Blanc, which has been in eclipse for decades. Mer- lot, on the other hand, is seeing little demand. DiBuduo told Wines & Vines that old, virus-infected vines on Califor- nia's Central Coast need to be pulled (and replanted). New ground is being developed on the Central Coast, but plantings are subject to continuing water restrictions. He is especially concerned about maintaining quality stan- dards throughout the state for both fruit and wine. Wineries should be prepared to pay $700 per ton or $7 per bottle for pur- chased grapes. Growers should always be compensated suffi- ciently to remain sustainable. Sonoma County's Francis Ford Coppola Winery, for example, pays a premium to growers who complete the sustainability self- assessment process. Highlights from report "What can be said for sure is that the planting and production dy- namics are changing once again as we move through times of pre- miumization in the business. An acreage base shift from the central and southern interior to northern interior and coastal regions is cer- tainly taking place," DiBuduo said. The Grape Acreage Report indi- cates there are 560,000 bearing and 42,000 non-bearing acres planted to wine grapes. The state recognizes the incompleteness of the voluntarily submitted data used to create a grape acreage es- timate. AGG, meanwhile, has esti- mated just above 570,000 bearing and 65,000 non-bearing acres. AGG's data from commercial nurs- eries indicates at least 65,000 acres have been planted over the past three years combined. 2017 harvest forecast In mid-May, AGG completed its San Joaquin Valley bunch count survey for 2017. For each of the major varieties, it checks numer- ous sample ranches from Clarks- burg and Lodi in the north to areas south of Fresno. The same sets of vines are sampled each year for consistency. Observations from most in the industry support assumptions of a slightly lighter than normal crop. The bunch counts, when com- pared to last year as well as the 10-year average, also point to something less than average. According to AGG's report: Pinot Grigio looks a bit on the lighter side, but Central Valley Chardonnay seems to be right at the 10-year average on bunch counts. Red cultivars are hit and miss in the San Joaquin Valley: Demand for Syrah has been strong, while the only demand for Ruby Cabernet can be character- ized as "lack of." The same can be said of Merlot from the North San Joaquin Valley. Barbera and Grenache experi- enced strong demand early on, mostly associated with the popu- lar rosé category, but also for use as blenders in affordably priced Cabernet Sauvignon programs. Zinfandel, whether for blush or red, has experienced painfully absent market demand this year. The tons that have moved thus far have been mostly under renewed contracts, but "new" purchases are few and far between. "We don't see any segment of the market that looks weaker than last year with regard to pricing and demand," DiBuduo said. "Overall, the market is healthier than it has been in the interior for the past three years, even though there are still signs of weakness." In his President's Report news- letter, DiBuduo commented: "The obvious shortage of labor (and especially skilled, efficient labor) and the cost of labor due to the minimum wage increase are creat- ing a labor crisis for 2017 and beyond. That also means we will be more reliant on skilled labor to run and repair the machines at a higher cost." —Jane Firstenfeld LODI WINEGRAPE COMMISSION TOP STORY Average to Short Crop Expected in California Allied Grape Growers collects bunch counts from California vineyards in order to estimate the size of the coming harvest.