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UNIFIED PREVIEW Navigating the New Normal Symposium to address promise of 2012 vintage and challenges of a global economy By Andrew Adams How the global wine market affects U.S. production Planting and replanting vineyards How the industry reacted to the short supply of California bulk wine Consumer trends driving the industry Stephen Rannekleiv, Rabobank E Mike Veseth, The Wine Economist Brad Goehring, Goehring Vineyards Inc. ven after a mild and generous growing season across most of North America, there's always something to furrow the brow of a winemaker or grapegrower. The Spanish economy, for ex- ample; or deciding when to replant—and with what varieties; or determining the right amount of time to spend on Twitter. The excellent 2012 harvest and the uncertainties of doing business in the new, global economy will provide plenty of sub- stance for this year's Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, to be held Jan. 29-31 at the Sacramento Convention Center. The Ameri- can Society for Enology and Viticulture and the California Association of Winegrape Growers present the symposium. The opening general session Jan. 29 will explore how the global wine market af- fects U.S. production. Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Com- mission, once again chaired the program development committee for Unified. "We knew we were in a time of both rapid change and, in the case of the world economy, some uncertainty," he said. In general, most in the industry seem to have a shared sense of optimism since early 2012, and "that certainly is a pleasant change," Frey said. But while conditions may have been rosy in California and most other growing regions this past vintage, Frey said those in the wine industry should 24 WINES & VINES DECEMBER 2012 Mike Drobnick, O'Neill Vintners & Distillers Kym Anderson, University of Adelaide be mindful of what happens to the economy in Europe and how that affects currency values. "Ultimately, the European economic situation continues to be a concern. How currency values are going to change, the poor crop in Europe, those are the areas that we're trying to get some insight on." Also, as costs have risen, Frey said winer- ies might need to start raising prices— something that could come as a shock for consumers who have grown used to buying wine at recession prices. "That's an issue that's important to the industry," he said. Planting and replanting The current short bulk market also has many growers and wineries thinking about or actually planting new vineyards. Brad Goehring, owner of Goehring Vine- yards Inc. in Clements, Calif., is partici- pating in a Jan. 30 panel session about planting and replanting vineyards. Goehring owns 400 acres of vineyards but works with more than 10,000 acres spread across 11 counties in California. He is still working on some of the issues to be discussed during the session, but he said in general there's been a "huge uptick" in demand for planting vines. What is getting planted, however, depends on the region. "It's been a mix of just about everything." he said. Goehring said he hasn't seen growers in a rush to match consumer demand; Santiago Achurra, Viña Requingua Christian Miller, Wine Opinions instead, he said growers are better advised to find a winery partner to shoulder the cost of developing a vineyard while still keeping an eye on the market. "The most important thing is for a winery to give you a pre-plant contract," he said. If growers can stay tuned in to what the market is doing, it may be easier to find a willing winery partner. "The first half of the strategy is reactive," Goehring said, "and the other half is proactive." Another issue of concern for Goehring is labor and the competition for open ground. He said a lack of available labor might lead more growers to replant with a trellis system that works with mechaniza- tion, and that move could influence which wineries are willing to work with them. Competing for open land Simply finding a place to plant vines may be an even bigger challenge. Goehring said that the last time the industry faced a shortage there was little demand from other crops. Today, winegrapes aren't the only profitable crop. "What that means is we're competing to purchase more open land," he said. The result, Goehring said, is that California likely won't see balance in the winegrape market for another five years. "That's also a good thing, too, because farmers have a history of going out and overplanting certain commodities that are profitable, and that ruins the market."