Wine grape growers look ahead

摘要

It's a tale of two growing regions for California wine grapes, as the rich look to get richer. The forecasts for the fortunes of wine grape growers in California's Central Valley and North Coast regions are so different, at first it's difficult to believe they could be growing the same crop. But the dollars tell the story, says Barry Bedwell of Ciatti Grape Brokerage. Bedwell recently gave his annual forecast at the 20th annual Agribusiness Management Conference in Fresno, CA. Bedwell says that while a Napa Valley grower of Cabernet Sauvignon can get 3500 dollar a ton under his contract with a wine-maker, a Valley grower of the same varietal is lucky to fetch 100 dollar a ton on the spot market. Unforhmately for the Valley growers, he doesn't see anything looming on the horizon that's going to change that scenario. "The outlook is short-term realistic, long-term optimistic," Bedwell says. "But that's easier said for the coastal growers than it is for those in the Central Valley."