Remember all those worries about a winegrape glut in California? Those worries are substantially gone, now that the California Department of Agriculture has released its Preliminary Wingrape Crush report showing about 13% fewer grapes were crushed this year, thanks in part to lower yields per acres as a result of a warming growing season and fire.
“The crop decreases mostly affected by smoke were Sonoma County Pinot Noir, Monterey County Pinot Noir, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon. The short crop helped to balance out some of the excesses in coastal bulk wine that had built up over previous years from new bearing acres, slower sales growth, and larger than average yields per acre. The spot market for grapes and bulk wine became more active during harvest last year and there is continued market activity early in 2021,” said Steve Fredricks, president, Turrentine Brokerage.
Sonoma County Pinot Noir saw a 39% drop in production from the 2019 harvest, and prices fell 20%. Sonoma County Chardonnay tonnage fell 34% due to a warmer than usual growing season. Central Coast Pinot Noir saw a 19% price reduction as only 34,445 tons were crushed, a 37% drop that was attributed to lower yields.
Chardonnay, the top varietal in the state, was down 16% in volume, the second consecutive year production fell. Prices dropped 12% statewide.
In a commentary for clients, Ciatti Global Wine & Grape Brokers said, “The severity of the downturn in statewide CAbernet Sauvignon pricing came as a bit of a surprise. Given that the pricing impact was more pronounced on the coast that in the San Joaquin Valley, we believe the impact of the summer wildfires strongly contributed to the lower than expected results.” It appeared, Ciatti added, that a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes “were either unpicked or re-sold at a discount in the areas most perceived to be most affected by smoke from wildfires.