California winegrape growers are finding a mixed picture in the just-released 2007 California Winegrape Crush Report. While the report shows a slight increase to 3.239 million tons, up 5 percent from the 2006 harvest, overall winegrape prices fell from an average of $583 in 2006 to $563 in 2007, a decrease of 3 percent.
“The 2007 preliminary Crush Report with a crop of 3.23 million tons held no real surprises for us,” says California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) Chairman John Crossland, of Templeton. “And it did confirm a disappointing average price of $563 per ton for winegrape growers who continue to see prices
not keeping up with their cost increases.”
One surprise in the report pertained to the source of the slight increase over last year. “If you look at the numbers for Chardonnay and Zinfandel, jointly they had an increase over 2006 of 106,000 tons, which corresponds to the total increase for 2007 over the 2006 crush,” said Nat DiBuduo, of Allied Grape Growers, a CAWG director-at-large.
“What the report doesn’t show is that between 2000 and 2007 the average price of winegrapes stayed almost flat, while the cost of producing those grapes has gone up at least 20 to 25 percent,” said Crossland. “This year’s average crop, coupled with the steady increase in wine sales and depletion of bulk wine inventories are leading to a more active grape market. It appears that the industry is moving towards balance in supply and demand, but caution is still needed prior to planting speculatively.”
The annual Crush Report, established in 1976 through the efforts of CAWG, helps growers, vintners and allied businesses analyze trends in the wine industry.
“Every grape grower should look at the report and analyze the numbers for themselves as it pertains to their region and the varietals they are growing,” said Crossland. “The report represents thousands of transaction from all over the state, and to just look at a few average numbers is no way to base ones business decisions for the next harvest.”
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) collects information from wineries about the tonnage crushed, purchase prices and sugar content, all broken down by varieties and districts for the report. “The industry has come to rely greatly on this annual report, and it has helped the industry prosper by
providing accurate information to all growers and vintners, putting them on a fair and even footing,” said Crossland.
The 2007 crush total for all grapes (wine, table, and raisin) was 3.66 million tons, up from 3.49 million tons in 2006. Winegrapes accounted for 3.24 million tons, up from 3.14 million tons in 2006. Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of all grapes crushed at 1.868 million tons, down from 1.874 million tons from 2006. The 2007 white wine variety crush totaled 1.37 million
tons, up from 1.26 million tons in 2006.
Beginning with the 1999 season, the Grape Crush Report includes the total number of tons crushed for concentrate production. In determining grape tonnage crushed for concentrate production, each processor was required to report the estimated equivalent tons of grapes crushed for grape concentrate. For the 2007 season, this total was 465,368 tons, approximately 13 percent of the 2007 grape crush total, also the same as in 2006. The reports provides only the aggregate figure for grapes crushed for concentrate production and does not include information
by district, type or variety.
The Preliminary Grape Crush Report includes all grape tonnage crushed during the 2007 season. It also includes purchased tonnage and pricing information for grapes with final prices prior to January 10, 2008. The Final Grape Crush Report, which will be released on March 10, 2003, will include additional purchased tonnage, prices and corrections.
CAWG represents the growers of more than 60 percent of the gross grape tonnage crushed for wine and concentrate in California. The statewide association provides industry leadership to advocate for public policies, research and education programs, sustainable farming practices and trade positions to enhance the business of growing California winegrapes. For more information about CAWG, visit their Web site at www.cawg.org.
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