California grape-growers celebrate record harvest

(PKSJ) - California agriculture officials reported good news for wine lovers and vineyard operators alike: a record harvest of wine grapes.

Growers in the nation’s premier wine region brought in a bumper crop last year, thanks to expanded acreage and overall favorable weather.

Wine brokers told The Modesto Bee that two back-to-back years of large harvests will mean wine aficionados should find plenty of bargain bottles on grocery store shelves.

“Consumers are in a great position because of the amount of wine that is coming out of California,” said Erica Moyer of Riverbank, a grape and wine broker for Turrentine Brokerage in Novato.

The mid-Hudson Valley and New York state also are home to many vineyards and wineries, including sites in Millbrook and Clinton.

The New York grape, grape juice and wine industry generates more than $3.76 billion in economic benefits annually for New York state, according to the New York Wine & Grape Foundation.

Wine grapes are one of California’s top commodities, a crop worth $3.16 billion last year, according to the California Association of Winegrape Growers.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s preliminary figures show that the crop of red and white varieties combined weighed in at 4.23 million tons in 2013, up 5 percent from 4.02 million tons in 2012.