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NO VEMBER NEWS California Grape Supply Loosens Experts warn of long-term shortages N apa, Calif.—Early this year, it looked like wineries might face unexpected shortages, prompting many to rush to lock up supply. Now, with a near-perfect vintage and crop yields higher than expected, wineries and growers holding bulk stocks have released some of their wine, and things are looking a little brighter—at least for this year. At the Wine Industry Financial Symposium on Sept. 24-25, Tur- rentine Brokerage president Steve Fredricks examined both short- and long-term grape supply. In 2011, the state crushed about 375,000 tons of Cabernet; Tur- rentine expects that figure to rise to 425,000- 450,000 tons this year. Fredricks said that prices were up but have slid a bit. Growers don't plan to make bulk wine; they can sell all the grapes they have. For bulk California Cabernet Sauvignon, 1 million gallons are now available, double the number from a year ago. The greatest volume is from Napa, Calif., which had almost no bulk Cab on the market a year ago. This is also up significantly from earlier in the year, when stocks were almost depleted. winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keywords "symposium supply." 9/7/06 9/7/07 9/7/08 9/7/09 Six-Year California Bulk Wine Supply in Gallons California Central Coast North Coast Sonoma Napa 25 million 20 million 15 million 10 million 5 million 9/7/10 1 Year Ago 9/7/11 9/7/12 At present, the California Cab supply is weak and demand is high. Prices are $7-$11 per gallon for California appellation. It's available from Chile at $4.70-$5.40 per gallon landed in Califor- nia, and prices are slightly higher from Argentina at $5-$5.80 per gallon. Little Cabernet is available elsewhere. The state crushed 550,000 tons of Chardonnay in 2011, Fred- ricks said. Tonnage is expected to rise to 650,000 or more this year. Stocks of bulk Chardonnay are a little less than 1 million gallons, down from 1.5 million a year ago. Much of it is from non-coastal regions. The price is $5-$7.50 per gallon for California Chardon- nay. From Australia, it's $4.80-$5 per gallon in California. Pinot Noir should also take a big jump this year, said Turrentine, who expects the amount crushed to rise from 120,000 to 225,000 tons. The amount of bulk Pinot Noir offered stands at about 200,000 gallons, down from 350,000 a year ago or even a few months ago. —Paul Franson Maryland Wine Pioneer Dies M 16 WINES & VINES NOVEMBER 2012 t. Airy, Md. —John P. "Jack" Ael- len Jr., one of the early winery owners in Maryland, died Sept. 22 in Naples, Fla. Aellen founded Berrywine Plantations/Linganore Winecel- lars in Mt. Airy, Md., with his wife Lucille in 1971. The couple planted 6 acres of grapes in 1972 and opened the winery in 1976. Aellen worked to establish the first Amer- ican Viticultural Area in Maryland, the Linganore Viticultural Area, which covers 90 square miles. He also founded the Fred- erick Chapter of the American Wine Soci- ety. Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., Aellen graduated from Fordham University with a master's degree in organic chemistry. After he was blinded in an industrial accident at age 30, he returned to graduate school and obtained a master's in business administra- tion from Lehigh University. He worked for many years for the National Bureau of Standards and the Department of Energy while growing the winery in Mt. Airy. —Linda Jones McKee