North Coast grape harvest down sharply, valued at $1.1 billion for 2015

The value of the North Coast grape crop fell 23 percent in 2015 as a light yield resulted in the smallest return for growers since 2011, according to report released Wednesday.

The local wine industry had expected a lighter crop given such factors as a longer bloom period last spring and the occurrence of shatter, when growing conditions create grape clusters that don’t fully develop. But the preliminary figures issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture painted a stark picture.

Growers in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties picked 400,174 tons of grapes last fall, according to the report. The figure was a 25 percent reduction from 2014’s overall tonnage.

The much lower yield could not even offset an increase in the amount that is paid per ton to North Coast growers, resulting in a $1.12 billion crop for 2015. The value of the 2014 crop was a 10-year high of $1.46 billion. The 2015 figures are skewed to some degree, given that the local area experienced three bumper crops from 2012 to 2014 and that growers had anticipated a lighter crop. A light crop will re-balance the market forces of supply and demand.

“We needed the crop to be off a little bit, but we certainly didn’t need it to be off as much as it was,” said Brian Clements, vice president at Turrentine Brokerage, a wine grape broker.

The lower yield hit Sonoma and Napa counties in particular, with a tonnage decrease of 29 percent compared to 2014. That’s the equivalent of about 9 million cases of wine, said Steve Dorfman, a partner and broker at the Ciatti Co., a grape brokerage in San Rafael.

The 2015 lower yield came at the same time there is a growing industry trend to sell more profitable premium wine made with grapes from Sonoma and Napa counties.

“To feed these brands that are growing, we need a bigger harvest,” Dorfman said.

The North Coast average paid per ton was $2,809, which was a 5 percent increase.

Grapes grown in Napa County received the highest average price per ton in California at $4,329, up 6 percent from 2014. Sonoma County had the second highest return with $2,441, an increase of 5 percent from 2014.

Mendocino County had an average of $1,515 per ton while Lake County registered at $1,600.

Lake County vineyards did not appear to be affected by wildfires that consumed much of the area during the late summer, as growers only picked 240 fewer tons than in 2014 out of an overall 38,433 tons. There also have been no significant reports of smoke taint with the crop picked, Clements said.

The reasons provided for the lighter yield ranged, with some noting vine stress after three large crops and the possibility that the state’s drought played a role.

“You get 30 different answers if you ask 30 different people,” said Bruce Lundquist, co-owner of Rack and Riddle Winery in Healdsburg, which produces its own sparkling wine and assists more than 150 wineries in production of their wines.

The lighter yield did not affect quality, according to winemakers. “They really developed well in the barrels,” Cara Morrison, the chardonnay winemaker at Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards in Windsor, said of the 2015 harvest.

The big impact of the lower yield can be felt as wineries become more aggressive on the bulk wine market and snap up open contracts with growers, brokers said. Grape varieties such as pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc are especially sought after, Dorfman said.

In Sonoma County, pinot noir yield was down 35 percent, cabernet sauvignon decreased 30 percent and sauvignon blanc dropped 31 percent, according to the Sonoma County Winegrowers trade group. Even with the low yield, president Karissa Kruse noted in a statement that local grapes “have continued to increase over the past five years, proving there is strong demand for our grapes.”

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.