What a difference a year can make. In 2020, we were concerned about the safety of our friends in Sonoma County. This year, the folks there are celebrating the end of harvesting and say that while the grape yield appears to be slightly lighter to average yet, the 2021 crop will be viewed as an excellent vintage. Equally encouraging is that the winegrape market is in much better balance than in past years, said Karissa Kruse, president of the Sonoma County Winegrowers and executive director of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation.
This year’s crop was a little lighter due to a variety of water conservation efforts growers implemented this season to limit water use. This was true across the county and among all varieties. Though the season was void of long, lingering heatwaves, grapes in warmer regions matured slightly earlier due to it being a lighter crop and grapes from the cooler region ripened at a more normal rate.
Looking ahead, challenges remain. The ongoing California drought is entering its third year with the 2020/21 water year being the 9th driest year in the last 127 years of record keeping. Sonoma County is faced with extremely low water flows in the Russian River and low storage levels in local reservoirs. A long, wet winter is much needed to replenish local watersheds, reservoirs, lakes and ponds. Also, the growing shortage of workers continues to be a challenge in all industries throughout the United States including at local wineries and vineyards.
Given this, Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation surveyed nearly 1,000 full-time vineyard workers to better understand the challenges and needs of the local labor force and their families. The survey was significant in that 965 respondents participated which accounted for more than 15% of local vineyard workers. The survey was provided in Spanish and English and participants remained anonymous.
“We conducted the largest survey of vineyard workers ever taken in California. Due to the fires, the pandemic, and the economy, we know the past few years have been challenging for everyone. So, we conducted this survey to learn of the key issues to better understand our workforce, their challenges and needs,” said Kruse. She added, “Our focus, like that of our local grape growers, has always been to identify challenges, find solutions and foster the best communication to ensure the strongest relationships.”
Among the critical findings, more than 80% of the vineyard workers in Sonoma County are employed full-time. Over the past five years, local winegrape growers created more full-time work opportunities for vineyard workers. The full-time positions provided stability for the workers and keeps the talented workforce in the community. As a result, Sonoma County does not face many of the challenges of finding and securing seasonal employees as areas of the Central Valley and other regions of California experience.
The unique relationship between Sonoma County winegrape growers and their vineyard workers was apparent in other results in the survey.
- On average, more than half of local vineyard workers have worked for the same Sonoma County farming family or farm manager for more than 10 years.
- More than 20% of the respondents have worked for the same employer for more than 20 years.
- More than 40% of the respondents stated they are receiving free housing or getting housing assistance from their employer. This represented an increase from the 30% of vineyard workers receiving housing support five years ago.
- Vineyard workers rely on their family and employers as their top two resources if they need support.
- The average rate of pay for vineyard workers in Sonoma County is $19.87 per hour which is a $3.13 per hour increase since 2017.
- During harvest, wages for vineyard workers in Sonoma County can be as $30 – $40 per hour.
“Our more than 1,800 growers and their employees work together to grow, harvest and maintain Sonoma County as the most sustainable winegrowing region in the world,” stated Kruse. She added, “Together, we are sustaining agriculture in Sonoma County today and for decades to come. I was also happy to learn that over 90% of our vineyard workers would recommend working in agriculture to their family and friends. This will be critical to preserving agriculture in Sonoma County and California in the years ahead.”