Publication: Wines and Vines
Title: Napa Grape Prices Up 11.5%
Link: https://www.winesandvines.com/news/article/195584/Napa-Grape-Prices-Up-11.5
Wines and Vines report on the volume and value of grapes in 2017 in California. The price for red wine grapes saw a 5.1% rise in 2017 compared to the previous year. White wine grapes decreased by 3.6% in price. The greatest increase was seen in Napa County where grape growers saw in 11.5% rise in the average price of grapes. Specifically, Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc saw the largest increases. Furthermore, the article discusses the prices in the rest of the major North Coast regions and the Central Coast, from traditional varieties to obscure, find out their value with this read.
Publication: Wine Business
Title: Preliminary Report Shows California Crushed 4 Million Tons of Wine Grapes in 2017
Link: https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=195577
The recent report that came out by the California Agricultural Statistics Service showed that in 2017 California crushed about the same tonnage of grapes as in 2016. Whiles some predicted Cabernet Sauvignon would finally surpass Chardonnay, the white varietal remains the leading grape varietal crushed in 2017 in the Golden State. As no surprise, Napa leads in the most expensive wine grapes with the highest average price at about $5,205 per ton.
Publication: Napa Valley Patch
Title: Wine Purveyors Can Bid Online For Rare Napa Valley Wines
Link: https://patch.com/california/napavalley/wine-purveyors-can-bid-online-rare-napa-valley-wines
Wine industry purveyors gear up for the Premiere Napa Valley Online Auction which opens worldwide on February 23rd. Wine trade professionals will have the opportunity to bid on some of the rarest wines of Napa Valley. Those who win the auction will be the sole proprietor of the wine won in the lot, meaning they will be the sole purveyor. Each bottle is hand-labeled, numbered and signed by the winemaker. Jeff Smith says, “Premiere Napa Valley presents a unique opportunity for our friends in the trade to set themselves apart from their competitors by becoming the sole purveyor of that wine.”
Publication: California Winery Advisor
Title: 7 Top California Zinfandels Under $25
Link: https://californiawineryadvisor.com/7-great-california-zinfandel-wines-buy/
The California Winery Advisor highlights seven Zinfandels from the Golden State all for $25 or under. They rate this year's new releases from all over California including Zinfandels from Sonoma, the Sierra Foothills and more. This article includes tasting notes.
Publication: Press Democrat
Title: Fetzer looks to showcase new vintages after 50 years as Mendocino County’s wine pioneer
Link: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/business/7968765-181/fetzer-looks-to-showcase-new
Fetzer Vineyards, one of the pioneers of organic and sustainable viticulture in Mendocino, has just entered into its 50th year of business. Fetzer is the 10th largest wine company in the US with 960 planted acres of vineyards, 700 of those vineyards are certified organic and the remaining are all farmed biodynamic. Since 1992 Fetzer has been owned by outside companies, at points causing the brand to produce lower quality wines than intended by the Fetzer family. Today, they are owned by the Chilean vintner, Vina Chinch y Toro, which has returned to focusing on quality wines from those organic and sustainable vineyards. Fetzer Vineyards is also a certified B Corporation which the author explains means “it [Fetzer] achieved high standards not only on its environmental commitment but also on how it treated its workers, its overall relationship with the local community and its business governance structure.”
Publication: Uproxx
Title: LeBron James Is The NBA’s MVP Of World-Renown Wines
Link: http://uproxx.com/dimemag/lebron-james-nba-wine-aficionado-cavaliers/
Uproxx reports on LeBron James’ wine affinity. He is well-known in the NBA as being a wine aficionado and claims drinking wine could correlate to his stellar basketball performance and good health. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ star and the whole team reportedly went to the Napa Valley to visit the most renowned wineries of the region. Uproxx speculates about the possibility of Los Angeles’s close proximity to wine regions related to his upcoming free agency, “With LeBron’s looming free agency decision coming this summer, perhaps Los Angeles’ proximity to the California wine region might just be one more, albeit very minor, enticement on the list of pros and cons.”
Publication: Decanter
Title: California 2017 harvest size by grape variety
Link: http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/california-2017-harvest-size-grape-384517/#5zHerIFBzS80yzHF.99
More news focused on the 2017 California grape harvest from Decanter. Decanted breaks down the most common grape varieties in California based on the crush figures. The article explains that the red wine harvest has decreased by 1.6% while the white grape harvest has gone up by 0.7% in comparison to 2016. Additionally, the importance of Cabernet Sauvignon is discussed as the varietal had a record harvest, up by 6% from the previous year. Furthermore, the impact of the wildfires in October of 2017 is assessed.
Publication: The Press Democrat
Title: Berger on wine: Floral whites celebrated in Boonville
Link: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/food/7977215-181/berger-on-wine-floral-whites
With the Anderson Valley Aromatic White Wine Festival coming up at the end of the month, The Press Democrat talks about aromatic white grape varieties and their importance to the region. Dan Berger explains the unique climate, saying “Anderson Valley, a small pocket of Mendocino County off Highway 128 leading to the coast, is cool enough to be one of the most blessed places in North America in which to grow many of the aromatic grapes.” Aromatic varietal wines like riesling, gewurtztraminer, and muscat are all more suited to cool climates like the Anderson Valley and will surely be found at the festival.
Publication: The SOMM Journal
Title: The Big Five
Link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/935769-february-march-2018/70
In this issue of the SOMM Journal, Randy Caparoso, talks about the five delineated “neighborhoods” of the Russian River AVA. Stemming from scientific research, it has become increasingly obvious to winemakers and grape growers in Russian River that the region has distinct topographic and climatic differences between sub-areas or what is now being called “neighborhoods.” Caparoso delves into all five neighborhoods, from north to south, explaining what makes each area unique. From climate to soil, SOMM Journal discusses how these factors affect the typicity of each neighborhood’s Pinot Noir.
Publication: The Wine Economist
Title: Wine Business 101: Exploring America’s Largest Wine Industry Trade Show
Link: https://wineeconomist.com/2018/02/13/unified-2/
Wine Economist takes a look at the United States’ largest wine industry trade show, the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium which took place in Sacramento, California this year. Sue Veseth discusses just how equipment intensive winemaking has become and how wineries or grape growers can buy just about anything they need at this gigantic trade show. She discusses the atmosphere of the show and the new trend of vegan products that appeared at the show this year. Finally, she discusses the cost/benefits of attending this large and sometimes heavily crowded, trade show.
