February 2022

DROUGHT, DROUGHT, DROUGHT…

It seems like all anyone talked about in 2021 was drought, and for good reason. The 2020-21 rainfall season was the driest ever recorded since 1895. Then in early November of 2021, we experienced one of the largest and intense rainfalls ever for a couple of days. A lot of areas received over 5 inches of rainfall. A holiday gift was then given to California with continuous rains between Christmas and New Years. What a great start to the rainy season. The only problem is that there has not been any precipitation since then. It has been over a month and the forecast for the next couple of weeks is for dry weather. Someone forgot to tell Mother Nature that this is our rainy season! We experienced the driest January ever. If this dryness persists, wells will be the only source a grower will have to irrigate. There will be no water available for California Agriculture from any Federal or State water districts.

AN AMADOR SOURCE

One of our growers (Sangiovese and Zinfandel) was recently mentioned in a recent BARRON’s article by Hudson Lindenberger. We have been selling some of his Sangiovese and Zinfandel for years from Amador County (Foothills). We quote:

“Winery: Avio Vineyard Specializing in the Italian-style varietals that Amador County is known for, Avio Vineyards feels like one has been transported from the Tuscan countryside. Founded by a family with winemaking roots that stretch back to Italy, they are a boutique vineyard that produces small batches of award-winning wines. Their Barbera is chock full of black cherry and plum flavors that intermingle with hints of vanilla and smoke. They also make a smooth Sangiovese that's a pleasure to sip.”

PRICING???

  • We are attempting to sign up some of our regular long term growers to new contracts for the upcoming season. Even though our growers have pledged to sell the grapes to us this year, there is no consensus of what prices should be for the next couple of years. Last year everyone came out about this time and bought as many grapes as they could. As the 2021 season progressed, spot and minimum prices rose as the lightness of the crop became apparent. Now there is a very natural hesitancy to wait and make a more timely decision.

Some facts are obvious:

  • There are currently not that many grapes that aren’t under contract. Wineries are trying to extend the three year contracts signed the last couple of years at higher prices. Again no consensus of what that price should be.

  • Cost of farming of almost anything is increasing dramatically and we are still seeing marginal grape acreage being pulled out.

  • We have had two light crops in a row. This is what is causing the unprecedented demand for grapes and wine. The projected Annual California Grape Crush Report is estimated for 2021 at 3.6 million tons. The official Report is due out shortly. If it proves less than the 3.6 million tons, prices will rise even more so, if it proves higher there may be some easing. Regardless, prices will rise.

SEE YOU IN TEXAS

We will be exhibiting at the Texas Wine & Grape Growers Association on February 17th through the 19th. We will be in Booth 515. We hope to see a lot of our Southeast and Texas customers.

We also hope to visit a couple of our customers at their wineries.

November 2021

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

A YEAR IN REVIEW

Three weeks ago we shipped our last grapes to winery customers, and last week, we shipped our final loads of customer-owned grapes (we facilitate the handling and shipping). We started harvesting on August 8 and here we are, almost three months later, with our last shipments. It was our longest season ever with some of the most difficult challenges we’ve ever faced. It was a season that required patience for all concerned (growers, customers, and us!). It was a season with so many twists and turns that we would like to review and project for the future. 

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation played a major issue during the season. It was both a major economic and logistic issue. Rate increases were horrendous. Generally it was a 30% to 40% increase across the board— regardless of destination. Even more of problem was the lack of transportation options. Most truckers did not want to make two pickups and forget about two drops. We prided ourselves in past years with our ability to ship early maturing grapes out in a timely manner to various wineries around the country. This year, we had to wait until later maturing grapes were harvested so that an almost complete full load volume was available. This put a lot of pressure on facilities, employees and material availability together with cost issues.

WEATHER

 Weather generally cooperated to the extent that there was no moisture during the season. This helped tremendously because we had to store grapes longer than normal due to the transportation issues. The season started with some very hot weather and generally continued warmer than normal throughout the season.

Three weeks ago we experienced one of the biggest storms ever in Northern California.  Rainfall exceeded historic daily totals for many areas. This rain was a Godsend. With drought conditions throughout the State, many growers had been notified that no water would be available in 2022 from their water districts, period. Well water would be their only source. If that policy has to continue, a large amount of growers would not be able to farm their acreage. Many grapes would be affected. Let’s hope this storm is the first of many more. 

GRAPES

The overall crop for almost all varieties in all areas, except for Cabernet Sauvignon, was generally lighter than normal. This was especially predominant for white varieties. The lighter crop had its formation due to the very dry winter, reduction of water availability from water districts, and the very hot weather in late August and early September. Almost all varieties matured at the same time. Merlot, Zinfandels came right on the heels of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. There was a period of two weeks when we had to harvest grapes in an almost hysterical manner. Most Cabernets, however, took their time, and in late September, we had to stop picking to wait for our last Cabernets to mature.

Prices for all varieties rose as the season progressed for any grapes that were not contracted. Those rises were above the already higher prices contracted for the 2021 season. We will see prices rise again in 2022. How high that price rise will depend on the final 2021 total crop. Most grapes contracted in 2021 were signed up for minimum prices for five years. Actual prices that will be paid or promised for 2022 may be well above their minimum prices. 

SUPPLIES

We started the season with some of our packing supplies stuck in a Los Angeles Port. We had no idea when we would receive them. We had ordered them 6 months earlier.  Luckily they arrived a day before we needed them. One item we did not order early and we never had had to do it, was pallets. Our usual supplier had NONE, we finally found some but with a cost of over $10.00 from previous years some were $25.00 more.

LABOR

Labor costs also increased for the 2021 season. That was anticipated but we were lucky to have a very loyal picking crew and storage personnel. We promised our field labor a substantial picking bonus, if they would stay with us throughout the season. We were happy to pay it because we had a consistent, reliable crew throughout the season.  Labor will go up again next season as the minimum rate goes up for the State in 2022.

GOOD DEVELOPMENTS

Several very good developments occurred this year that need to be mentioned. We have sourced a new supplier for bulk juice needs for our winery customers. Everybody was happy with that development. We have also greatly increased the relationship with a farming and brokerage entities. This entity has a large source of grapes especially Italian varieties. Also this is the first time we shipped bulk Cabernets, Pinot Grigio and Merlot from the same vineyard we have sourced our coastal Pinot Noir in San Benito County. We also have been introduced to growers from other Coastal areas.

BULK WINES AVAILABLE

The following bulk wines are available out of the Clements Hill sub AVA of Lodi. Please contact us for pricing.

16,000 gallons Cabernet Sauvignon – 2021

4,230 gallons Montepulciano – 2021

660 gallons Montepulciano – 2020

730 gallons Nero D’Avola – 2021

625 gallons Albarino – 2021

1,450 gallons Sauvignon Blanc – 2021

LOOKING FORWARD

One heading from a wine blog headlines “Historically Low World Wine Production Expected”.  From other blogs we are reading and our experience here in California, we agree with that assessment. Also with the very low availability of bulk wine (and the prices we are hearing for them) all wine will increase in price. We are so happy that we sold a lot of grapes and juice to our customers. It is obvious that retail prices must go up. We hope all our customers will make a great wine and equally their production will be extremely profitable.

We hope everyone has a nice holiday season, and please contact us if you’re interested in any of the available bulk wines.

 

July 2021

Last weekend we experienced a very high temperature heat wave of over 108 degrees F. The heat wave extended throughout the State. It was a lot cooler a day or two later. We were very lucky several weeks ago to have missed the dramatic heat wave that hit the Northwestern States and British Columbia. Other than this last current heat wave, the weather has been ideal with cool evenings and warm days. Veraison is progressing typically for this time of year. Below is Old Vine Zinfandel in Lodi taken a week ago.

PXL_20210707_162648650.jpg

Before the heat wave, we looked at a lot of vineyards. To our surprise we were shocked with the size of the crop. Zinfandels are showing a very light crop for the second consecutive season with Pinot Grigio a close second. Cabernet Sauvignon surprisingly is the variety that is showing the best crop. Merlot and other varieties are fair to good. This hot weather will probably reduce overall crop size.

There is no question that the State is in a very serious drought condition. How fast this drought occurred is shocking. It was just two years ago when all of the State’s reservoirs were full. This year many growers have fallowed a lot of land because of their concerns that very little water would be available from various irrigation districts throughout the State. Most vineyards are irrigated by wells but district water is cheaper and better quality. The governor has formally requested that people reduce their water use by at least 15%. No rain this winter will be a disaster for everyone.

Covid Repercussions

Transportation - Transportation will be terrible this year. Not only are prices for full load shipments beyond imagination, especially to the East Coast, but there is not that much availability of drivers.  Prices for East Coast shipments are over $5,000.00 more than last year. It appears that Midwest shipments are about $1000 to $2000 more than last year. There are about 1100 lugs or 20 tons per shipment, which could add an additional $5 per lug just for increased freight costs.   The increase in freight will even be greater for those shipments that include several drop (delivery) locations. According to DAT Trendlines™, June 2021 versus June 2020 refrigerated truck load rates are up +111.7%, with a current load to truck ratio in California being 12+ loads available per truck. 

Labor - Throughout the agricultural industry, labor shortages abound. Picking crews are at best at half staff for all crops. There will not be enough labor to harvest the grape crop from the actual harvester operators, forklift drivers, and truck drivers. In our last Newsletter we said we were not concerned, however, right now everyone is concerned. We have had a very reliable crew for many years. We hope that relationship continues. One of the biggest problems at the end last year was losing some of our crew to marijuana harvesting. We hear they are telling people that they will guarantee minimum $200/day payable every day in CASH.

 Supplies - Everything is going up in cost. We have ordered all of our supplies not knowing what the final price of many items will be. We are also concerned that the price of grapes may even go higher than they are now. Once the size of the crop is realized (e.g., short crops), wineries will bid even more money for the few grapes that are still available, driving the price further up. There is a very serious concern that wineries may not be able to timely harvest the crop either. Transportation and Labor will also haunt them, maybe even more so. 

Outcome

Every grapes season has had it concerns before the start of the season. This year it is worse.  Please let us know your needs as soon as possible. We have bought a lot of grapes early but maybe not be enough grapes and the prices continue to go up. All we know is that everyone is going to have patience.

May 2021

2021 GRAPE CROP

At this stage, the overall grape crop for 2021 looks like a potentially substantial crop. There are many bunches and what stands out almost shockingly is the length of bunches. We are currently in bloom or post bloom with no indication of any possible berry shatter. There is a long way to go but it is a perfect start. The only variety that is showing a little inconsistency is Old Vine Zinfandels. In general, however, the crop on the Old Vine Zinfandels is much better than last year. 

WATER, WATER, WATER NOT HERE

There is a very serious drought condition throughout the State. Allocations from Water Districts are no more than 10% and most are at 5% of past assessments. Of course, most growers have groundwater from their wells, especially in Northern California to irrigate their grapes. In some areas, there may not be enough well capacity to supply their entire acreage in a timely manner.  There was only one substantial rain storm this past winter. The depth of the snowpack in the mountains was one of the lowest in years. The runoff this year will be insignificant. Water issues are the primary topic of concern among growers.

 

WEATHER

Our weather pattern for the last month has been cool nights and warm days. The daytime temperature differential has ranged once as high as 40 degrees F and probably average close to 30 degrees F. It could be a reason that bunches have substantial growth, and the vines look so vigorous. Grape maturity will be later than last year. Other crops are about a week later than normal. The combination of this beautiful weather that promotes vine growth, and the apparently very good crop, will bring us to a later harvest. 

There is growing and rightful concern about potential forest fires this summer. The very dry winter has everyone scared. I hope we never have anything close to what happened last year.

 

INFLATION EVEN IN GRAPES

As we had mentioned in previous Crop Updates, the price of grapes has gone up a minimum of $50.00/ton to $200/ton from 2020 prices. This was due to the light 2020 crop and the tremendous amount of smoke taint grapes in the Coastal Regions that were not harvested.  There is no substantial volume of wine available in California. The wineries need all the grapes they can get this year.

What we are starting to find out is that transportation increases might be at least $100 ton higher to the East Coast and proportionally to the rest of the States. With fuel currently going even higher this can be very scary. Let’s hope that scenario changes.

Our packing supplies are also significantly going higher. The cost of the wooden pallet may approach $.50 a lug or $27.00 a ton. We will probably not pack any wood boxes this year because of the difference in costs in materials, and everything will be in corrugated plastic cartons, even 42 lb lugs. We have already ordered our bins for winery shipments without a price!!!

Labor is also a known unknown entity. As an employer who has had a very loyal labor force especially in Northern California, we do not normally have concerns. Towards the end of last year, we did lose some employees to the marijuana industry. The marijuana harvest industry pays CASH daily to their employees at a much higher rate than other agriculture industries can afford. Together with the current labor situation throughout the country, these concerns are justified.

With the reopening of America, we hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Holiday.

February 2021

THE CROP HAS BEEN CONFIRMED

The 2020 Preliminary Winegrape Crush Report released a few days ago shows a California statewide wine grape crop of 3.404 million tons. This is the lightest California wine crop since 2011, down 13% or about 88 million gallons from 2019. The 2019 crop was about 9% less than the 2018 crop. The reduction of the 2020 crop was due to mainly lower yields per acre in most

areas and the exposure of smoke taint in the Coastal areas.

There is no question that the reduction in crop yield has not only put the current bulk wine market in a strong and tight position, but it also is creating an unprecedented demand for the 2021 crop from the interior of Northern California. For the last few months, wineries, especially in the Lodi area, have been actively solicitating renewal of grape contracts, solicitated new contracts and even issuing planting contracts. Prices have already increased a minimum of $100/ton for Cabernets and Merlot from last year and this is before the Winegrape Crush Report came out and any prospect of the 2021 crop can be assessed!!! Imagine if we have a light crop in 2021.

 

CONTINUING ANOMALY

This price rise and unprecedented demand for Lodi grapes is a continuation of the Lodi anomaly that we spoke about in our last Newsletter. Lodi grapes are in big demand for their unequaled quality-price ratio. That anomaly is reinforced this year by the final FTC approval of the revised Gallo-Constellation blockbuster wine deal. Last year there was confusion as to what winery would do what. This year everything will be formalized.

Because of this anomaly, a vineyard that we have always been sourcing our Tempranillo (from its very first crop) is being actively soliciting the crop for the 2021 season.  Out of respect, the growers want to protect our relationship. We are asking everyone who has purchased Tempranillo in the past or has interest for this year please contact us ASAP. We want to reserve some for this year from this outstanding vineyard and we will give you the details.

Activity in other locations is far from robust and probably exemplified with a concept of let us wait and see. As with many wineries across the Country the coronavirus pandemic response led to months long stretches of closure of key sales channels in tasting rooms and restaurants.  Even before the pandemic the North Coast wine business had been facing slowing sales growth and increasing competition from other premium adult beverages. 

 

WE HAD AN IDEA, BUT IT WAS STILL A SURPRISE

Going into the 2020 season, like for everybody else, there were a lot of question marks. As it turned out, people kept ordering grapes and we had one of the most successful seasons ever.  Box shipments increased for home winemakers by over 6,000 lugs and winery shipments actually increased by 10%. This says a lot about our customers. A lot of retail distributors of boxed fruit were not able to operate because of the Covid restrictions but all of ours flourished. A lot of wineries that we dealt with had commercial outlets for their wine and with the increase in wine sales in the commercial outlets, their sales flourished, and they ordered accordingly.  Thank you to all our customers.

Also, there are a lot of wineries who have ordered grapes every year but because they could not open their tasting room or could not market their wines at all had to pass. This situation should improve as the vaccine becomes more available and we are looking forward to doing business again.

 

NEW SOURCE FOR ITALIAN VARIETIES

We have located a new great source for Italian Varieties in the foothills.  Dolcetto, Montepulciano, Aglianico, Sangiovese, Nero D’Avalo are just some of the varieties that are in this vineyard. Last year we sourced Sangiovese from four different ranches. Please contact us early as possible for some of these high-demand varieties.

 

P.S. - Please contact us ASAP if you are interested in purchasing bulk quantities of high-demand varieties like Tempranillo, Dolcetto, Montepulciano, Aglianico and Sangiovese.

November 2020

This is our first Newsletter since July. We apologize for no updates before and during the harvest season. Circumstances were changing so quickly that, at times, we did not know how the circumstances would affect us and the harvest. Between the effects of the Covid-19 lockdowns, the long and high heat wave, the lightness of some of the crops, the anomaly of the Lodi District, the trucking-freight situation and ultimately the California Fires were constant questions that had no immediate answers.

THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

We did not know initially how Covid-19 would affect our business. As we started to talk to a lot of our winery customers, we were surprised to find that wineries that had commercial distribution for their wines were having an increase in their sales and were eager buyers for grapes. Those wineries that relied solely on tasting room sales and other social gathering events were very skeptical and understandably cautious. We did have some wineries that have been ordering grapes from us for years but were not able to do so this year.

When we started to talk to our distributors, they seemed to have the same indications from their customers—they desired to make homemade wine more than ever. I guess it reflected the significant increase of off the shelf wine sales. The public was staying at home and drinking more. Home winemaking also provided families with time together and perhaps passing on of traditions. Everyone was concerned how the distributors would handle Covid-19 protocols in their facilities. Most distributors did not have a problem mainly by having customers preorder their grapes.

THE LONG HEAT WAVES

California had one of its longest and hottest heat waves in late August and early September ever experienced. Growers had to irrigate their vineyards constantly in order to keep their crops from withering. With the heat, Chardonnay matured very early and, for the very first time, we didn’t harvest any Chardonnay this season. They were just too early and did not do well after the heat. Also, after heat and irrigation, sugar development was hindered throughout the season.  It persisted in almost all varieties. Some vineyards, especially some Syrah, never did get the desired sugar.

THE LIGHT GRAPE CROPS

From the very beginning, it was obvious that almost all varieties were going to be short on production. Some proved to be short as high as 70% of their typical crop production. The heat obviously had a big effect. We usually harvest up to 3 vineyards of Old Vine Zinfandel and Merlot. This year it was 6 vineyards to yield the same tonnage. The heat also caused some Cabernet vineyards to wither before sugar development and we had to find other sources.  We were lucky to find sufficient volume of high quality grapes in a timely fashion for all varieties.  We probably inspected more vineyards than ever before and were kept busy visiting many vineyards.

THE ANOMALY OF THE LODI DISTRICT

At the start of the year there was a tremendous over abundance of wine and the prospect for most growers without contracts was not very good. There were a lot of grapes left on the vines in 2019 and growers pulled out their marginal vinyeards. They were concerned that they may not have a buyer for their grapes. Then Covid-19 struck, the lockdowns started, and everything changed. In stores, sales for wine grew at high percentages. In the spring, the large wineries saw this change and started to offer contracts for Cabernet Sauvignon all over the Lodi District.  Grant you they were at prices lower than the historical prices of the past few years but respectable. They were not buying grapes from any other region. As we have said in the past, the Lodi District gives winemakers the best quality for the price.

This anomaly was not apparent for the other varieties until later in the season. Once the realization took effect that there was a dramatic lack of production of all varieties, they aggressively tried to buy anything they could get their hands on. At the end of the season they even harvested some vineyards that were not pruned! There was not a vineyard in Lodi that was not picked.

THE FIRES

The California fires were devastating to the coastal wine districts. From the southern to the northern coastal counties, most vineyards were never picked. Smoke taint was and is a very existential problem in those areas. The Lodi district did not experience any ash or low-lying smoke. There was a long period of high haze that did obstruct direct sunlight. The only effect of this high haze seems to have been responsible for the slow sugar maturation over the area.  

THE TRUCKING SITUATION

Logistics was a problem through out the season. With restaurants being closed, a lot of refrigerated trucks did not have food service shipments coming back to California. Because of no return freight, rates increased from $2000 to $3000 for Eastern shipments out of California.  LTL rates also increased proportionally. At one time we were very frustrated that we could not get our orders out to our customers. Eventually everyone got their grapes except for a few customers in Florida. 

July 2020

COVID 19 AND THE GRAPE HARVEST

The Covid Pandemic influence on the upcoming season is an unknown factor. How it will affect market conditions is probably the biggest unknown factor. In-store wine sales are booming especially in the middle price range of $10.00 to $20.00. I heard that increase may have exceeded 20%. This is dramatic. In contrast many States, including California, are having a second shut down of winery tasting rooms where sales are almost nonexistent. The effect of these contrary conditions is a big question mark. Distributors and sellers of grapes to home winemakers must naturally adhere to all safety rules for their employees and customers. I do not see an obstacle for them to be open as grapes are a food product. As I had mentioned in our previous newsletter, our main picking crew is very experienced in Covid 19 protocol. They have been picking other farm products for both fresh and processing entities. Food and employee safety procedures will be adhered to by all our staff—from vineyard to cold storage. Since we own all our facilities, we know that is a fact.

WEATHER AND TIMING

We are having one of the best growing years for weather. There have not been too many spikes of hot weather. This last week was cool in the evening and daylight temperatures were in the mid 80s. It is expected to be warmer this upcoming week. Veraison or color change is occurring at a good pace. Maturity should be at least a week earlier than the last few years.

CROP SIZE

After a week of visiting vineyards and looking over the crop, we are convinced that the crop might be considered light in general. There are less bunches and both the berries and bunches do not look too large. I have heard no explanation for this, but we believe the drier winter must have been a factor. Hopefully, the lighter crop may help with the overproduction of grapes and reduce the large wine inventory that we have had in California.

Map of Lodi Grape Growing Areas

We have found a very interesting map of the Lodi District Area. Over the years we have picked grapes from most of the sub AVA’s. Over the years you could have seen LINDEN HILLS, ALTA MESA, CLEMENTS HILLS and last year BORDEN RANCH on our box labels. As you can see from the map, we tend to favor the eastern part of the Lodi District for some of the best grapes available in the District.

lodi map.jpg

May 2020

We hope everyone is doing well during these difficult times. We have been preparing for the upcoming harvest and addressing concerns related to COVID-19. The picking and packing crew that we use for 95% of our harvesting needs is currently picking cherries for the fresh market. Before harvest everyone’s temperature is taken and results documented. Social distancing and other safety precautions are observed constantly during the day. Together, with the use of our Certified Global G.A.P. Food Safety cold storage, you can be assured that our grapes will be handled by everyone in the most responsible manner that is possible.

COVID-19 and the Wine Industry

There are still a lot of unknowns but there are a few facts that can be stated. Retail and wholesale wine sales have increased. This can be seen by observing how large wineries in California are busy bottling and selling wine. We are also selling some wine. As we stayed home, more wine and other alcohol was consumed (except for beer). I have heard many reasons for that phenomena. Maybe more meals with family or just plain relaxing while at home or something to kill the boredom. The simple truth was the fact that no alcohol was available outside the home in any social environment. Higher end wines are in trouble. Most upper end wines from smaller wineries are sold to restaurants or out of tasting rooms. That movement disappeared except for curbside pickup. How it will change over the next few months is anybody’s guess. The industry started the year with a glut of wine. Even now there is a glut of most wines. I have heard that most of the 2018 crop was still in the tanks. Wines that can be priced from $10.00 to $25.00 are the ones that have some market presence. We have heard from some of our customers. Those customers who have distributors and have some grocery shelf space say they may have to increase their orders for this year. Some wineries are putting a hold on their orders because of concerns about timing of their mobile bottling lines and not enough storage space. For the majority who depend on tasting rooms and local restaurants there is a big question mark. A lot depends on when their particular State’s rules for opening up occurs and initial restrictions.

COVID-19 and the Grape Industry

Without the bump in the in-store movement of wine, this year would have been a very difficult year for growers without contracts. Because of this bump, movement of wines has caused some grape activity to occur in the Lodi District. There has been some renewal of contracts of Old Vine Zinfandel and even some new contracts for Cabernet. For the Cabernets, contracts are at lower base price than previous long-term contracts. There is even some talk that wineries may be looking for Merlot. I have heard of no activity in other areas of the State for any varieties. In the May 18, 2020 Wall Street Journal there is an article by Jim Carlton. There is a picture description that states “The effects of Coronavirus-related lockdowns have been particularly painful for Sonoma and Napa winemaking counties.” In conclusion, for our wineries and home winemakers we MAY see a slight rise in the prices for grapes. For higher end areas, we may still see further drop in prices or prices similar to the end of last year.

Weather and Timing

Throughout the late winter and early spring, we have experienced ideal weather for the grape crop. It was not too hot or too cold. There has been some rain but one could consider it a relatively dry winter. At this time harvest does not appear to be as late as last year and may be a little early.

Grape Crop

Monday, 5/18/20, was the first day we went out and looked at the grape crop and talked to a few people. Most varieties have finished blooming and are shedding their blooms. It is much too early, but right now we are looking at a pretty fair crop. Bunches are bigger than normal but in some vineyards bunch counts are down. Old Vine Zinfandel is lighter than last year. Grapes pictured below are from Lodi 5/18/20.

December 2019

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

We hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! It is always a pleasant task to write a newsletter this time of year. This year is no exception.  Even though there has been turmoil in the grape industry here in California and our dollar sales fell 3 percent, our volume of shipped product actually increased. This divergent result reflects the reduction in most prices for grapes in the 2019 season and also happily the increase of demand from most of our customers, both in distributors and winery customers. With the lower price of grapes, wineries increased their purchases and we successfully added new distributors in Vancouver, B.C. and Texas. A list of our current distributors can be found HERE. Thanks to everyone for your support.

 NEW GROWERS & VARIETIES

This year we increased our list of sources, varieties and locations for 2019 harvest.

The last few years we have specifically shipped Olmo Clone 4 Chardonnay very successfully. The initial vineyard was no longer available to ship during the 2019 season.  We looked for this specific Chardonnay clone and found another reliable source for this wonderful Chardonnay clone. 

 We have secured new sources for Sangiovese. One of these sources is a winery who raises Sangiovese in Amador County and has won gold medals with their Sangiovese wine. We have also bought some clone 2 Sangiovese that is located in the Clements foothills. Good Sangiovese is one varietal that still has relativity strong demand.

We also shipped some Teroldego for the first time. Teroldego is a dark skinned variety which produces pigmented wines with an intensely fruity character. It is grown almost nowhere in the world outside the Trentino-Alto Adige area in Northern Italy. We found a small planting here in California and are interested on hearing about the resulting wine. 

This year we actually found an old vine (head-pruned) Petit Sirah vineyard located in the Victor area, east of Lodi that had outstanding taste and flavor. Initial response has been very promising. We hope to maintain our relationship with this grower in the future.

Last year we picked 3 tons of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Wolfskill Vineyard located in Suisun Valley.  This year we nearly shipped 20 tons. This vineyard is located on a hillside within 200 yards of Napa County. Excellent reports are starting to come in about the wine this vineyard has produced

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 PATIENCE PAYS OFF

Most varieties matured later than the last several years. The cool wet spring, coupled with a mild summer, made for a later maturing crop.  Most varieties also had heavier than average crops especially Zinfandels and Merlot. Luckily we had anticipated the later maturity and some growers limited their irrigation programs. This also caused some smaller berry size and a little weakness in bunch firmness but it meant that early grape buyers had grapes with great flavor and good chemistry both in sugar and PH.  

As the season developed, Mother Nature cooperated nicely but not perfectly. We did have to quit picking several times and in some vineyards we returned many times to get the maturity we wanted. To insure proper maturity we also had taken samples from almost every vineyard and variety before we picked. In almost all instances we were gratified with the development of sugar. PHs remained in the 3.6 range. We will continue this program in the future. 

 WEAK MARKET

We anticipate the price of grapes in California to be weak within the foreseeable future. It has reached a point, however, that the cost of shipping hand harvested grapes, properly cooled and packaged, to be the major factor in the FOB pricing of the grapes. The actual cost of the grapes is currently about 30% to 40% of that pricing. With that in mind, we see pricing generally to be similar to this year with maybe a slight decrease. Grapes from higher end areas may see a greater price reduction.

July 2019

Another Great Grower

Brad Goehring has been elected by the California Winegrape Grower’s Association the 2019 Leader of the Year. Brad is a fourth generation grape grower. Last year we purchased some Petit Sirah and Old Vine Zinfandels from some of the Goehring Vineyards Inc. They were excellent grapes and we hope to continue this relation for years to come and with additional varieties. 

Timing Assesment 

 Throughout the month of July, we disciplined ourselves not to go out and look at the potential crop. We were convinced that the crop was much later than previous years and we could not come up with an accurate assessment as to maturity. Earlier this week we broke that discipline. Full blown anxiety took over. 

There is no question here in Northern California that we are at least two weeks behind “normal maturity”. Veraison in the early variety of Zinfandel is only about 15% to 50%. This puts us out at least 4 to 6 weeks.  Tempranillo color change is much higher. Many years ago a lot of Tempranillo was shipped in the beginning of the season by its old name of Valdepina when the Zinfandels were very late. We do not see any harvest before September 1st.

What confirms our assessment is, naturally, visual inspection and talking with growers, but the fact is that wineries and harvesters are delaying the hiring of sugar tester inspectors by at least two weeks.

Winery Activity

At this particular time there is NO winery activity. Part of the lack of activity can be a relation to the late timing of the harvest but most blogs are blaming the delay of government ruling on the E & J Gallo Winery’s purchase of a lot of the facilities and labels from Constellation Brands, Inc. No one knows if the deal will be approved, who is going to buy and/or crush the grapes. This needs to be resolved in the next few weeks for us to have a coherent season. We made reference to this issue in our April Newsletter.

Regardless of the result of the above issue we do expect a drop in price for some varieties especially Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandels. We may see a slight drop in other varieties including some Italian varieties.

Grape Crop Size

There is generally a good grape crop. There are some varieties and or locations that are showing a little lighter set but there is no generalization to expound at all. Almost all varieties are available, so please contact us with your needs for this upcoming season.