California Ag Network

Tag: California wine industry

  • CA Raisin Crop Update & Wildfire Impact

    With smoke-filled skies and ongoing wildfires in forested areas, one may wonder just how the California raisin industry may be impacted by all this.  As harvest continues through the pandemic year, what should we expect from the 2020 crop?  Watch this brief interview with Rick Stark from Sun-Maid growers to find out and read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • What to Expect from the 2020 California Wine Crop

    Wildfires and smoke exposure aside, what is the 2020 wine grape crop looking like.  Jeff Bitter from Allied Grape Growers reports that the crop could be much smaller than expected with supply and demand returning to a more balanced state.  Watch his brief interview now and be sure to attend Jeff Bitter’s State of the wine grape industry address at American Vineyard’s virtual Central Coast Grape Grape Expo on Nov. 6th and the Central Valley Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo on Nov. 13.
     
    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Reality of the Wildfire Impact on the 2020 Winegrape Crop


    Many of our wine grape industry friends and families have been impacted by the recent wildfires, and our hearts and prayers go out to them. Although vineyards tend to act as fire breaks helping to mitigate the spread of these wildfires, growers and winemakers are concerned about what the smoke exposure impact will have on the 2020 vintage.  Please watch this brief interview with Jeff Bitter from Allied Grape Growers as he corrects some misconceptions about smoke exposure and clarifies the most likely impact the wildfires will have on the 2020 California crop — and how grape growers should proceed to finish up harvest.  Read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.
     
    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Mechanizing Vineyard Canopy Management

    Are you struggling to meet the labor needs in your vineyard and having difficulty converting to a mechanized approach? Watch this brief interview with Craig Edwards from Acampo Machine works as he shares some of the struggles and solutions growers are experiencing on the journey to a completely mechanized vineyard canopy management system.  Read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.
     
    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Meet Stephan Sommer, Director of Viticulture and Enology at Fresno State

    Have you met Stephan Sommer, Fresno State Director of Viticulture & Enology?  He joined the team at Fresno State last year, and growers will get to hear from him at Fresno State’s Grape Day coming up on August 4th, 2020 in a virtual format for the first time ever.  Watch this brief interview with Sommer, and read more about what’s going on at the Viticulture & Enology Research Center in American Vineyard Magazine.
    Please Thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • A New Effective Way to Control Mealybugs in the Vineyard

    Got vine mealybug in the vineyard? Consider mating disruption in your IPM program.  Watch this brief interview with Kent Daane from the UC Cooperative Extension as he shares how it works and how effective their research trials have been throughout the state in utilizing this technology.  Read more about vineyard pest management in American Vineyard Magazine.

  • How to Successfully Convert to Year-round Vineyard Mechanization

    The journey to year-round mechanization in the vineyard can be a rough one, but it is worthwhile, according to Greg Gonzalez, Director of Vineyard Operations and Scheid Family Wines.. One may wonder where to start or how to maintain the same or better quality compared to traditional methods. Watch this brief interview with Greg as he shares his journey to mechanization as well as some key considerations.  Read more about vineyard mechanization in American Vineyard Magazine.

  • Wine Market Dynamics with Turrentine Brokerage: Time to Evolve

    The global wine market is constantly evolving along with the demands of today’s consumers, as growers and wine industry stakeholders were clearly reminded at the recent Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento. Obviously, growers can’t change their vineyards/varietals as quickly as the markets changes; however, watch this brief interview for some considerations from Steve Fredricks from Turrentine Brokerage, and read more about the current state of the grape and wine industry in the March Crush Report issue of American Vineyard Magazine.

  • CDFA Releases CA 2019 Preliminary Grape Crush Report

    The 2019 crush totaled 4,085,772 tons, down 9.3 percent from the 2018 crush of 4,506,010 tons.  Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of all grapes crushed, at 2,135,112 tons, down 12.8 percent from 2018.  The 2019 white wine variety crush totaled 1,755,141 tons, down 4.3 percent from 2018.  Tons crushed of raisin type varieties totaled 61,051, down 26.0 percent from 2018, and tons crushed of table type varieties totaled 134,468 down 5.6 percent from 2018. 
     
    The 2019 average price of all varieties was $790.43, down 5.0 percent from 2018. Average prices for the 2019 crop by type were as follows: red wine grapes, $990.07, down 2.9 percent from 2018; white wine grapes, $580.66, down 8.6 percent from 2018; table grapes, $262.60, up 36.8 percent; and raisin grapes, $244.88, down 19.0 percent.
     
    In 2019, Chardonnay continued to account for the largest percentage of the total crush volume with 15.6 percent.  Cabernet Sauvignon accounted for the second leading percentage of crush with 14.1 percent.  Thompson Seedless, the leading raisin grape variety crushed for 2019, held only 1.1 percent of the total crush.
     
    District 13, (Madera, Fresno, Alpine, Mono, Inyo Counties; and Kings and Tulare Counties north of Nevada Avenue (Avenue 192)), had the largest share of the State’s crush, at 1,307,233 tons.  The average price per ton in District 13 was $300.60.
     
    Grapes produced in District 4 (Napa County) received the highest average price of $5,797.07 per ton, up 3.9 percent from 2018.  District 3 (Sonoma and Marin counties) received the second highest return of $2,823.67, up 0.2 percent from 2018.  The 2019 Chardonnay price of $899.83 was down 7.3 percent from 2018, and the Cabernet Sauvignon price of $1,720.61 was up 2.2 percent from 2018.  The 2019 average price for Zinfandel was $564.74, down 5.8 percent from 2018, while the French Colombard average price was down 5.0 percent from 2018 at $275.89 per ton.

    See the tables below for more information and read the full report HERE.

  • Will there be Room in the Tanks for the 2020 Wine Crush?

    As wine inventory movement has been pretty slow since the spring, there is some concern in the industry whether there will be room in the tanks for the 2019 crop that is beginning to mature.  Watch this brief wine market update with Wine Broker Glenn Proctor from the Ciatti Company as he explains, and read more in American Vineyard Magazine.