Consumers have shifted their wine buying to off-premise retailers from on-premise, but that hasn’t changed the need for growers to reduce the number of acres planted to grapes, Allied Grape Growers says.
And while there has been about 35,000 acres removed, 20,000 acres of new vines have been planted. So at least 15,000 more acres need to be removed to adjust the supply base to meet demand, it says.
But where that reduction should take place has changed: “Acreage may now need to be reduced a little more heavily in certain coastal regions, while the interior regions of California could possible throttle back on removals,” the trade group says.
Older, less productive and/or diseased vineyards should be the first to go, no matter the variety or region, it says, adding:
“There are still undesirable varieties, quality levels and production levels that can only be addressed by vineyard removal. An uneconomical vineyard requires removal, regardless of where it is planted.|”