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March 2018 WINES&VINES 13 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS S a n R a f a e l , C a l i f. — Prices for red wine grapes from California rose 5.1% in 2017, compared to 2016, while white wine varieties dropped 3.6% in price, according to the prelimi- nary California Grape Crush Re- port released Feb. 9 by the California Department of Food and Agriculture in cooperation with the USDA's National Agricul- tural Statistics Service. Total wine grape yields nar- rowly squeaked past the 4 million- ton mark, a decrease of 24,436 tons, or 0.6%. The numbers were in line with what North Coast winegrower Andy Beckstoffer expected. He told Wines & Vines, "We were a little bit under what we expected (in 2017), and we expected to be about the same as 2016." "It's been 20-some years since we did the Phylloxera replant here in Napa, and so there are a lot of vineyards that are being replanted and pulled out," said Beckstoffer, who grows grapes in Lake, Mendocino and Napa coun- ties. "Mendocino County will probably be down more than many of the others." Indeed, yields in Mendocino County were down 9.6%, largely a result of low yields among white varieties. Chardonnay y i e l d s w e r e d o w n n e a r l y 7,000 tons, or 22% in District 1, and Sauvignon Blanc was down 552 tons (13.5%). "At first glance, it looks a lot like last year," Glenn Proctor, a partner with wine and grape bro- kers The Ciatti Co., said of state- wide results. "It's virtually the same tons, but from a statewide basis, it's interesting that Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio and Cabernet all had their largest statewide har- vest ever. Those are the varieties you've seen put in the ground in the past four to five years, so that makes some sense." Prior to the report's release, there was some speculation that Cabernet Sauvigon would over- take Chardonnay as the most grown variety in the state, but for the time being Chardonnay has held on to its top spot. "We had bets internally on whether Cab was going to produce more than Chardonnay," Proctor said. "It's basically 600,000 tons rounded up, so it's pretty close." North Coast prices Grapegrowers in Napa County (District 4) saw the largest in- crease in average price, which grew 11.5% to reach $5,175 per ton. Napa Cabernet Sauvignon shot up to an average $7,421 per ton, an increase of 9% over 2016, while Cabernet Franc commanded $7,969, up 10%. "The pricing continues to go up in line with what we've seen the past few years in terms of de- mand," Proctor said. "It's a good thing for growers because their costs are up. "So that is going to be interest- ing if that continues. We have seen at least some reports here that premium sales continue to grow, but they're growing at a decelerat- ing rate." The second-highest priced area was District 3, consisting of Sonoma and Marin counties, where grapes sold for an average price of $2,800, up 8% from 2016. Pinot Noir was the highest priced major variety at $3,904, b u t a f e w v a r i e t i e s p l a n t e d sparsely and primarily used as blenders drew higher prices. Mendocino County Pinot Noir was almost as valuable as the same varietal in District 3, gar- nering $3,165 per ton. Cabernet S a u v i g n o n f r o m M e n d o c i n o (District 1) drew $2,209, the fourth-highest price by district after Napa, Sonoma and Lake County, where it hit $2,352. Central Coast pricing In the South/Central Coast coun- ties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura (District 8), Pinot Noir was the highest priced major variety at $2,975, but Cab- ernet Franc was not far behind at $2,862 per ton. Growers in District 7 (Mon- terey and San Benito counties) earned an average of $1,359 per ton for Chardonnay and $1,984 for Pinot Noir. A handful of un- u s u a l r e d v a r i e t i e s s u c h a s Freisa, Graciano and Sagrantino f r o m t h e a r e a c o m m a n d e d $2,500 per ton. Chardonnay claimed its high- est price in Napa at $2,738, fol- lowed by Sonoma-Marin ($2,317). Surprisingly, Chardonnay from District 16 (Orange, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties) fetched a higher average price per ton than the same varietal from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. In Lodi (District 11), Chardon- nay averaged $552 per ton, while Sauvignon Blanc fetched $558. Relatively obscure varieties in- cluding Verdejo, Picpoul Blanc and Marsanne, however, were all worth $1,200 or more. It was much the same for Lodi red variet- ies, as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot brought commodity prices of $700 and $552, while Zinfandel saw $650. Mourvedre, Cinsaut and Primitivo all commanded more than $1,000 per ton. Big money for small yields The price of Portuguese variety Tinta Madeira jumped nearly $572 (80%) statewide, but the volume crushed in 2017 was down 40%. Prices for the red wine variety Trousseau increased $1,700 per ton, but its volume also was down 40%. —Kate Lavin, Jim Gordon, Rebecca Arnn and Andrew Adams TOP STORY Napa Grape Prices Jump 11.5% in 2017 " We have seen at least some reports here that premium sales continue to grow, but they're growing at a decelerating rate." —Glenn Proctor, The Ciatti Co. Source: California 2017 Grape Crush Report PRICE CHANGE FOR MAJOR CALIFORNIA VARIETALS AND WINE TYPES Change From Previous Year -4% -3% -2% -1% 0 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% All Whites Chardonnay All Reds Pinot Noir Cabernet Sauvignon Total wine