Again!? The Time Is Now for California Wine Grape Growers To Pull Out Old Vines
March 5, 2024 “Nothing I have to say is cheerful or encouraging.” So began the annual presentation on the state of California wine grape growing by the President of Allied Grape Growers, Jeff Bitter, at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento in late January. The 2023 crop was larger than expected with 7.1 tons per acre, the first time it exceeded 7 tons since 2019. There was such an excess, many of those grapes couldn’t find a home.
“You can travel to vineyards all over our state and find grapes dropped,” he said. “No one in this room will be surprised when I tell you: Pull out some grapes.”
The lack of surprise is due to the fact Bitter has sounded this warning in past years, noting growers have left crop on the vines in three of the past five years. After the huge 2019 crop, many growers did indeed heed Bitter’s advice, pulling 35,000 acres of grapes. However, the 2023 Allied survey of all 11 of the state’s grapevine nurseries indicates that 63% of their sales were in red grapes.
“This is alarming to me. We don’t need more red grapes,” he said, though he quickly added: “The problem is not planting too many grapes; the problem is we’re not removing enough.”
Growers are certainly not the only ones facing severe market pressure, noted Danny Brager, of Brager Beverage Alcohol Consulting. Wineries are generally not doing as well, but the problem goes beyond wine, as sales of all alcohol are down. Baby boomers are dying, and millennials generally don’t drink as much, especially when it comes to wine.
Wine sales were down a total of 4.5% in 2023 from 2022. Only wineries focusing on premium wines, costing $100 per bottle and up, are doing well, with sales actually up 7.6% last year. However, with sales down overall, vintners are really starting to feel the pinch, Brager said.
“This might be the first year the number of (California) wineries decreases,” he said.
To help alleviate the excess of grapes on the market, Bitter would like to see 50,000 acres pulled out this year, especially “aged-out” vines, and many of the generic red wine grapes produced in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
“When confused, remove,” Bitter concluded. “If in doubt, pull it out!”
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