How the harvest is shaping up.
How the harvest is shaping upThe winegrape harvest in California is lagging at least three weeks behind schedule in the North Coast counties.
There was also some concern when heavy rains hit the weekend of Sept. 16-17, lasting in some areas into the following week. Andrew Beckstoffer, who farms extensive vineyard holdings on the North coast, said damage would be light for Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc if warm, dry weather returned, as was forecast.
Several days following the rain, it was still uncertain how much damage was done to the winegrape crop. There were fears that cloudy skies and lingering fog could cause rot to develop in some areas of Napa and Sonoma counties. There were reports of major damage to White Riesling and Chenin blanc, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc still a question mark.
The rains caused heavy damage - perhaps as much as $50 million - to the California raisin crop.
There was no change in the latest (September 1) California wine grape forecast of 2.050 million tons.
In Oregon, on the other hand, the crop is perhaps a week early, according to Dave Anderson, a member of the Oregon wine advisory board. Anderson said the crop looked very good with few disease problems. "The numbers look real good." Oregon tonnage for the harvest is expected to be in the 8,500 to 9,000 tons range.
In Washington, Simon Siegl, director of the Wine Institute for that state, estimated vinifera at about 40,000 tons, which would be down 6,000 tons from the big harvest of 1988. Siegl said there had been some powdery mildew but growers had kept on top of it and it was not a major problem. Harvest conditions there look good, with good quality.
In the east, John Martini, president of the New York State Wine Grape Growers said the harvest was running about a week to 10 days later than last year with quality fairly good.
Harvest was early all across Europe, from Germany right through into Spain and Portugal. One oddity of the harvest this year was that picking began for port before the harvest started in Jerez for sherry. Quality is reported to be very good in most areas.
In Bordeaux, harvest of white wine grapes began August 29th and red grapes the next day. Bordeaux is expecting a large crop of at least 4.8 million hectoliters and the quality, especially for red wine grapes is expected to be outstanding.
In Beaujolais, the harvest started on Sept. 2 with a large crop expected, despite the severe hail damage of July 7. There is pressure for an increase in prices of 10 to 15%. In the rest of Burgundy, harvest started on the 14th and 15th of September with exceptional quality reported.
Gallo decision
* E&J Gallo has announced that it will stop selling high alcohol wines in skidrow districts throughout the U.S. The move was ordered by Ernest Gallo, chairman of the winery's board. The order directed Gallo distributors not to sell Thunderbird and Night Train Express to retailers in rundown districts anywhere in the nation. This follows Gallo's ban on sales in San Francisco's Tenderloin district three months ago.
In a statement, Gallo said that it was "regrettable" that some retailers "persist in selling these and other products to obvious alcoholic derelicts."
Liquor Barn sold
* Triton Group Ltd. and two San Diego investors will buy Liquor Barn, the 68-store chain operating under federal bankruptcy protection from Majestic Wine Warehouse Ltd. of London. The latter bought Liquor Barn in 1987 for a reported $110 million; per the Wall Street Journal, Majestic is selling Liquor Barn for $40 million. The San Diego investors, Harvey W. Rosen and Lewis H. Silverberg, will manage Liquor Barn.
$2 million for France
* French sparklers under $10 and table wines under $8 tied to a fine art theme will receive a $2 million national promotion this fall. A total of 53 brands will be featured in the campaign, which was created by Lois GGK for Food and Wines from France, New York. The theme of the campaign is "French wine is French art" and the paintings include the works of Seurat, Degas, Gauguin, Renoir, Cezanne, and Monet. The campaign is via cable TV.
Export grants
* The California Department of Food and Agriculture allocated $871,500 to wines in state matching funds for the 1989-1990 export program. There was a total of $3,247,600 allocated.
Major wine funding went to: E&J Gallo, $175,000; Guild, $100,000; Wine Institute, $75,000; Robert Mondavi Winery, $68,000; Heublein, $65,000; Sebastiani Vineyards, $50,000; Sonoma County Wineries Association, $35,000 and H. Shenson International, $35,000.
Other winery grants ranged from $2,000 to $20,000.
"Gib" is organic
* Gibberellic acid, as formulated by Merck & Co., Inc. as Giberel, can be considered organic. The chemical is used to thin bunches and increase berry size in table grapes. The California Department of Health Services told the California Organic Farmers that use of the Merck product allows growers to still be within the state's organic farming guidelines. As yet, other formulations of gibberellic acid are not considered acceptable on organically-grown produce.
Targeting abuse
* The Beer Institute has kicked off a $2 million print advertising campaign focusing on the industry's alcohol education and anti-abuse efforts. The campaign is BI's first such; it represents national, regional and local brewers. At the BI annual meeting in June, Anheuser-Busch announced it had formed a department of consumer awareness and education, and A-B Chairman August A. Busch III said the giant brewer would spend millions on advertising to promote responsible drinking nationally.
Bank expansion
* Wells Fargo bank has entered into an agreement with the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (Hongkong-Bank of Hong Kong to expand international banking services for California customers in the Far East. Christopher Crook, chief executive officer of HongkongBank's operations in Japan, toured some North Coast wineries to point out that the new alliance can help vintners expand their market in Japan, where HongkongBank opened its first branch in 1866.
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| Publication: | Wines & Vines |
|---|---|
| Date: | Oct 1, 1989 |
| Words: | 1013 |
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