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 ...
I’ll stick to craft beer, thanks.
I only cook with the $3 bottles from the grocery. No sense in evaporating high dollar water.
Sweet reds and Cabernet for red meat, white wine for fish and chicken. Sauvignon Blanc is dry and use it for pasta sauce.
Pino Grigio is sweeter and works well with chicken or fish.
A sweet red is good to add to Spaghetti sauce.
Good to know! Trader Joe’s, here I come! I wondered why I was able to buy 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir under the TJ’s Petit Reserve label for $5.99. A nice wine for everyday drinking. I went back and bought a case.
Get to know the manager at the wine department, tell them what you like, ask about good values, they will steer you in the right direction. If you find something you think is a good deal go back and buy more because if you wait it will be gone.
I hope that the price of VSOP Congnac, Brandy and Sherry also tumble.
Definitely missing something....
Preliminary reports indicate the issue to be a design flaw or manufacturing error on the part of the tank. Mfg.
Explains why Trader Joe just lowered the price of two buck chuck back down to $1.99.
Another horrible effect of GlobalClimateWarmingChange!
Harvests were just about done when the fires hit.
Also you have widely spaced plants which are cleared in between rows. You say vineyard - I say firebreak.
Accumulating inventory does not make the payment at the bank. /s
Add CO2 to the atmosphere, toss in a few tenths of a degree C to the temperature and what do you get?
More grapes in California.
Just wait until Napa Valley has to compete against Greenland and Alaska North Slopes vineyards. :-)
That will be it! The end of civilization as we know it!!!
Next thing you know they’ll be selling good 5 cent cigars.
The Earth was great while it lasted. :`(
I drink wines from: France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Upstate New York. Notice whats not on that list?
Yeah, that’ll be something to cheer about:
Chinese wines, now with less plastic!
CC
Nigeria!
Only African wine I have tasted has been from Morocco and Algeria . ;)
Heh. So, how was it?
"everyone likes a little hiney"
Oh, is this a bunch of manure. There is no surpolus of grapes. There is a lack of buying so the grapes are going to possible rot on the vines unsold.
An example is out of the SF Chronicle that tells a story:
Paul Johnson farms 450 acres of wine grapes in Monterey County for his familys Johnson Vineyard Co. Normally, a range of local wineries, under multiyear contracts, buy his Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. But after last years harvest, Johnson began to worry when no winery clients renewed their contracts.
According to winespectator.com vintners attributed the surplus of wine during the recession to slow sales, not an excess of grapes. The reasons for these oversupplies have been primarily economic, not due to particularly bountiful harvests, said Cameron Hughes, founder of the eponymous négociant, which purchases surplus juice from wineries and bottles it under its own labels. But the recession in California has driven prices up so they can’t afford to purchase, thus too many grapes left behind. The article is a lie about the reason for the overage.
rwood
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