Greetings everyone. I hope the new year is treating you well.
As I sit here contemplating this newsletter, it is hard to describe the 2022 grapes harvest and therefore almost impossible to predict what may occur in 2023. In a very simplistic and polite manner, 2022 was a very challenging year. Between weather, market conditions and crop yield, there were ups and downs.
The season saw drought, hailstorms, frost, unseasonably cool, humid or cloudy conditions, heat waves and rainfall and often in quick succession. The drought of the last few years continued all winter long and early spring. Irrigation water was only available if you had a well. No surface water from any Irrigation District was available in the entire State.
On top of the drought there was a lot of frost damage one spring morning. It was not predicted nor anticipated. It hit mostly northeast and northwest of Lodi and a few other parts of the State. After the frost occurred, the weather was so mild that normal bloom time was extended. A lot of berry shatter occurred when it got warmer. The shattered or loose bunches appeared in almost all varieties in some vineyards and in some growing areas.
The worst weather conditions occurred during harvest in the Labor Day week. Temperatures reached 115 degrees F on most days for almost a week. For both safety considerations for labor and the unknown effect of this heat on the vineyards, we continued our harvest only at night. Everything was culminated with rain fall in late September!
The grape market was very strong during last winter. Contracts were initiated at slightly higher prices than the 2021 season. There was aggressive buying. By springtime uncertainty in the general economy grew and wine sales started to slow down. The bigger wineries slowed down their buying. In contrast smaller wineries remained aggressive because of their lost tonnage due to frost and anticipated lighter crop.
For the third year in a row, they were predicting a below than average total crop. But an anomaly to this general assessment, we experienced phenomenal bumper crops in several vineyards. In dramatic contrast, we lost some vineyards that suffered total dehydration of their grapes because of the unparalleled heat wave. Way up and way down were our results, truly mind-blowing. It will be interesting what the total harvest will be 2022.
We experienced a very wet December and January is following suit. There has been significant rain almost every week and currently there may be almost two whole weeks of rain into the new year. We have a long way to go before drought conditions can be alleviated. Last year we had a very wet December and then nothing. With all the rain and windstorms hitting us continuously in January, the weather gives us hope that drought conditions will be alleviated.
Grape marketing predications are in the same state as our general economy. Nobody knows what is going to happen. Coastal grape buying supposedly is still very strong in response to recent lighter crops. There are indications from several sources that there will be an easing of prices.
The shocking rise of total cost of labor, materials and energy for 2022 exceeded the initial cost of most the grapes. It cannot continue in 2023. Let us hope that inflation will diminish, and all costs remain stagnant or go down. Surprisingly after these rising costs, horrible weather, marketing and harvesting developments sales to our winery customers increased in both total tonnage and dollar volume.
SEE YOU IN SACRAMENTO & TEXAS
Please let us know if you are attending the The 2023 Unified Symposium in Sacramento on January 25 & 26. We can meet up. Also, we will probably be exhibiting in the Annual Texas trade show on February 22 & 23.
The following bulk wines are available out of the Clements Hill sub AVA of Lodi. Please contact us for pricing.
Montepulciano 2020 - 660 gallons
Montepulciano 2021 - 4114 gallons
Nero D'Avalo 2021 - 40 gallons
Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 - 2000+ gallons
Grenache Blanc 2022 - 760 gallons
Marsanne 2022 -
645 gallons
Sauvignon Blanc 2021 - 120 gallons
Thank you for your support. It is very encouraging, and we will continue our hard work to deliver the best quality available.
Please let us know if you plan on attending The 2023 Unified Symposium in Sacramento on January 25 & 26.
Thank you,
Michael Colavita
