Posted on 02/16/2020 4:58:36 PM PST by BenLurkin
Vineyards in Northern California began planting thousands of acres of new vines in 2016, and with more efficient harvesting methods, it has led to more bountiful harvests of grapes.
Having more grapes to make wine sounds good, but if theres not enough demand to support increased production, the surplus grapes go to waste.
Jeff Bitter, president of Allied Grape Growers, told CNN that its possible for surplus grapes to make it to the secondary market, where theyre used for brandy or as grape concentrate. But that market doesnt typically provide sustainable returns for growers.
The main cause of oversupply today is the culmination of a few years of slowing wine shipment growth, with an ample 2018 wine grape crop as an exclamation point, Bitter said. Until 2015, wine shipments had grown, almost predictively, for two decades. The slowdown in growth has caught the industry by surprise.
Since it takes up to five years to bring wine to market from the initial planning stages of planting a vineyard, it makes hitting future demand very complicated. In this case, we overshot demand.
To bring the market back into balance, California growers will need to cut down on producing acres of vines.
With flattening consumer demand for wine, unless vineyard acres are removed, balance will be difficult to find, McMillan told CNN. Balance will first be found in Napa, followed by other premium regions in California. It will take at least 2-3 years for grape pricing to stabilize.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
Make more raisins and sell them as a health food supplement.
I use wine just for cooking. People ask me why I’m always cooking.
I often cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food.
L
I thought Chicken Noodle News reported that all the vineyards burned up because.....Trump.
I thought it would be just the OPPOSITE, what with the acreage destroyed by fires in the Napa Valley, etc. a few years back.
What do you know? Nature Can Survive!
Why are wine sales down? Because it’s not Keto? Liquor is Quicker? ;)
oh good.....PLEASE tell me what types of wine are best to cook meat with because I’ve botched every one I’ve tried!
Odd...the new high tariffs on French wine have really killed them, so Id expect Americans to take advantage of this to fill the market and ramp up their prices.
But I guess it depends on the wine. Perhaps high end wines are the only ones affected, so it wouldnt have any effect on the bulk wine market.
I dont think the French sent us much mid-shelf wine anyway. We get more (and much better) affordable wine from Spain.
Any good names on the list?
More for us old timers!
Opus One is too expensive?
I’m in.
State will raise taxes to keep things even.
I even freeze it...it's really slush not solid...but for cooking...it's fine.
Turn ‘em into kits for home winemakers. I’d love to be able to go to a local vineyard & harvest real wine grapes. We make wine out of all kinds of fruit, but I’ve only had a chance to get real wine grapes once.
One Buck Chuck?
So two buck chuck will be one buck chuck?
My father-in-law used to make Dandelion Wine. I was intrigued, especially because of the association with the Ray Bradbury book.
But ot was nasty stuff.
(His berry wines were wonderful.)
A cup for the pot, a cup for the cook...
Bottle it and let it sit for a few years. It's not like they're baking bread or somethin'.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.