The Crush.February2021 - 6
Grape Supply More Balanced Short Term, But Flat
Demand and Uncertainty Remain
By Ted Rieger
Wine market experts at the 2021 Unified Wine & Grape
Symposium " State of the Industry " session reported a short 2020
California winegrape crop (3.35 million tons estimated) helped
shift from an oversupply of grapes and bulk wine in early 2020
to a more balanced market today. In addition, COVID-19 caused
major shifts in wine buying from on-premise sales to off-premise
and direct sales, resulting in shifts in wine and grape demand
based on price point and region.
Allied Grape Growers President Jeff Bitter last year
recommended growers remove 30,000 California vineyard
acres in 2020, citing the need for market " correction. " This year
his presentation theme was " uncertainty. " Although 2020 vine
removals were higher than normal, he said, " We got a decrease
in supply, but not through the avenues we proposed. " He
summarized: " The short 2020 crush corrected our oversupply,
but if we don't experience wine shipment growth coming out
of the pandemic, and/or we don't reduce our bearing acreage
base further, beyond 2021, it's not just a matter of if we become
oversupplied again, it's just a matter of when. "
6 FEBRUARY 2021
Bitter estimated 15,000 new acres were planted in 2020, " a
manageable amount, " as coastal planting slowed and interior
planting increased slightly. Allied's 2020 survey of nursery
grapevine sales in California - an indicator of planting trends -
showed a continued preference for red varieties at 65% vs. 35%
for white varieties, nearly the same as in 2019. However, cabernet
sauvignon and chardonnay saw equal sales as the most planted
varieties - both at 23.5% of total vines sold. Cabernet was down
from 27.1% of vines sold in 2019 and 30.6% in 2018. Pinot noir
remains the second most planted red at 16.2%, up from 14.8% in
2019. Bordeaux blenders were 7.3% of vine sales, and varieties for
rosé production made up 10.4% of sales.
For white variety vine sales, chardonnay increased to 23.5% from
22.4%. Sauvignon blanc remained second at 5.4%, a decrease
from 7.1% in 2019, and French colombard was third at 2.5%. Total
2020 vine sales decreased to 15.2 million, down from 19.5 million
in 2019 and 22 million in 2018.
Bitter said new market growth is not with new varieties. More
than 70% of current non-bearing acres are four varieties: cabernet
sauvignon (13,695 acres), pinot noir (9,588 acres), chardonnay
The Crush.February2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Crush.February2021
The Crush.February2021 - 1
The Crush.February2021 - 2
The Crush.February2021 - 3
The Crush.February2021 - 4
The Crush.February2021 - 5
The Crush.February2021 - 6
The Crush.February2021 - 7
The Crush.February2021 - 8
The Crush.February2021 - 9
The Crush.February2021 - 10
The Crush.February2021 - 11
The Crush.February2021 - 12
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https://www.nxtbook.com/cawg/cawg/the-crush-jan-feb-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/cawg/cawg/the-crush-december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/cawg/cawg/the-crush-november-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/cawg/cawg/the-crush-october
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https://www.nxtbook.com/cawg/cawg/the-crush-july
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