US: Buyers out in force for 2013 coastal varieties

(WesternFarmPress) - More 2013 wine grapes from California’s coastal regions are trading hands in the spot market than from the interior valleys.

“That’s mildly surprising,” says Jeff Bitter, vice-president of operations for Allied Grape Growers, Fresno, Calif., a marketing cooperative with nearly 600 grower-members in the state’s major grape regions “Last year Central Coast and North Coast growers harvested such a huge crop that demand for their grapes this year wasn’t expected be so strong so early in the season, but it is.”

One reason for the increased interest in Coastal grapes is the limited availability of Central Valley grapes. Much of this year’s production there is still covered by multi-year contracts negotiated when recession-battered consumers drove up demand for the lower-priced wines made from interior-grown grapes.

Now, with the economic outlook beginning to improve, consumers are beginning to trade up when they go wine shopping.

“The real hot spot in the wine market right now are bottles priced in the $13 to $18 range,” Bitter says. “That seems to be generating interest in grapes from most Coastal areas except for the ultra-premium regions. Higher-priced Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Sonoma County Pinot Noir are still in strong demand, too. However, buyers seem more interested in purchasing great quality coastal fruit so they can average down the grape cost of their higher-end programs, rather than purchasing additional high-end fruit.”