Wednesday, April 8 | 9-11 am | Soledad Mothballing a vineyard is a strategic decision to reduce costs during times of low grape demand or market uncertainty, while preserving long-term vineyard health and potential. This roundtable invites growers to share their experiences with mothballing—why they chose this route, what they hope to achieve, and what practices are (or aren’t) working. We’ll discuss the financial impacts, lessons learned, and when mothballing might no longer be necessary. Whether you’re considering this approach or already navigating it, join us for an open, practical discussion with your peers.   REGISTER Morning fuel sponsored by:

Harvest fairly smooth; bulk activity ticks up California’s 2025 winegrape harvest is moving into its latter stages. Timing, particularly in Coastal areas, is at the later end of normal parameters due to an accumulation of minor weather events, including a three-week stretch of lower-than-normal temperatures through July which August and September were not warm enough to offset, and rain around in some areas in recent weeks. The presence of precipitation has raised concerns regarding the welfare of any white and thin-skinned varieties still hanging, and – depending on October weather – maybe also the later-season reds. In general, however, things have been running fairly smoothly. This month’s report assesses harvest timing and tonnage performance in each region, grape quality, and provides an update on our state-wide harvest estimate. Numerous commentators have issued total tonnage predictions in recent weeks. The only certainty is that, for the third consecuti

Harvests downgraded; buyers largely unmoved The recent downgrading of Italy’s 2025 crush-size forecast means that none of this year’s major Northern Hemisphere winegrape harvests are now projected to reach their five-year averages. At least three, in fact, are expected to fall considerably short, due to climatic conditions but also vineyard removals and mothballing. As this month’s Italy page points out, this raises the possibility that “global wine output in 2025 will come in lower than in 2024”, a year that – according to the International Organisation of Vine & Wine – saw the lowest wine production since 1961. Indicative of demand pressure at the retail end, or the lack of it, the response of bulk wine buyers has mainly been to sit back and assess rather than jump onto the market, especially where wine prices have risen. As one of our European pages states this month: “Suppliers were understandably pushing for pricing in line with

Shorter harvests fail to stir uncertain bulk market The Northern Hemisphere harvests are in full swing and this month’s report relays the latest news from the vineyards on crop size and grape quality. Only one of California, France, Spain and Italy appears on course for a crop size in line with its five-year average, the others look set to come in short to varying extents, whether due to Mother Nature, vineyard removals/mothballing, or both. But with inventories long and North American and European retail sales of wine continuing to struggle, the bulk market has been largely unmoved. This month’s report identifies the activity that has occurred. Inflation and a cost-of-living squeeze are increasingly cropping up again in industry conversations. While the worst of the post-pandemic inflationary tailwinds are in the past, grocery and energy prices remain significantly elevated versus 3-5 years ago and consumers are reducing their spending on discretionary items accordingly.

With the bulk wine and grape markets stubbornly sluggish, and a number of vineyards and crush facilities mothballed, the Californian wine industry this year enters the normally bustling harvest season eerily quiet. This month’s Ciatti California Report assesses vineyard conditions as picking gets underway, identifies what wines and grapes have received some demand, and examines the latest sales data emanating from retail. Much of California experienced a three-week stretch of cooler-than-normal weather through July. The California Report investigates the potential consequences for harvest timing, yield, and vine health: Mildew is an issue, albeit highly localized. It remains too early to confidently forecast the crop size, but we attempt a general ballpark figure. This month’s report also explains what we mean by “sticky” inventory, and updates our ongoing charts showing – by total volume and by varietal – the bulk inventory listed with us. Meanwhil

Noticeably improved market activity: Where and on what? Bulk wine and grape activity levels since the turn of the year have been noticeably improved versus the final months of 2024, although much of the activity has consisted of inquiries rather than transactions. Publication in February of the CDFA’s preliminary 2024 harvest figure of 2.84 million tons - upped slightly to 2.88 million tons in the final report published March 10, but still the smallest in 20 years – failed to generate additional market momentum. On the bulk market, the buyer pool remains shallow and activity is certainly not concerted enough to make a dent in overall inventory: Paid subscribers can view our updated bulk wine inventory graphs by volume and by varietal, and find out what wines are in demand, by reading the full California Report for March. The grape market has experienced a smaller uptick in interest than the bulk market, likely in part because growers and grape buyers are waiting for the fr

Increased bulk wine and grape activity The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s preliminary 2024 grape crush figure, published February 10th, totalled 2,843,646 tons, lower than widely anticipated and below Ciatti’s pre-harvest projection of 3.1-3.2 million tons. The crop was 22.8% smaller than 2023’s 3.685 million tons and the smallest since 2004’s 2.775 million. Yields were lighter, but uncontracted grapes going unpicked also likely took a meaningful toll on crop size; vineyard removals and mothballing will also have affected the result. Available below to paid subscribers is our detailed analysis of the crush results by region and by variety, including commentary by Ciatti brokers such as: “The combined volume change in Districts 6 and 8 amounts to a staggering 7.8 million fewer cases of wine.” California’s bulk wine and grape markets were busier in the last two weeks of January and the first week of February than in the final fe

NOVATO, CA  -  “The fact that the 2024 California wine grape crop was 2.844 million tons is nothing short of shocking. Although the 2024 crop was generally light, and overall demand was lackluster, the industry has not seen a crop this low since 2004,” according to Audra Cooper, Director of Grape Brokerage of Turrentine Brokerage. With grape acreage being removed (and the process continuing), and growers employing mothballing techniques on some of their less marketable blocks, the question now arises: Do we have enough wine grapes for the future growth of the California wine business? According to Brian Clements, Vice President of Turrentine Brokerage, “The 2023 harvest of 3.685 million tons was a major contributing factor to the industry’s oversupply, despite the approximately 325,000 tons of grapes that were left unpicked due to quality concerns and heavy yields. 2024 brought a historically lighter crop of 2.844 million tons, yet approximately 100,

As the end of 2024 approaches, we are able to look back over a year on the global bulk market that was, despite common perception, different from its predecessor. December 2023’s Global Report began: “A year of flat or declining wine sales owing to consumer pessimism draws to a close with bulk markets exhibiting the same slowness they have done throughout the previous eleven months.” But the bulk market of 2024 has reassumed something of its traditional character, i.e., with activity levels differing between supplier countries, very crudely summarised as follows: short and active (Chile, Italy), long and less active (California, France), elevated in price therefore less active (Spain, Argentina), steady (Australia), and very low on stock (South Africa).  The main cause of any activity upswings and/or elevated prices has not been increases in retailer/distributor demand – which has remained patchy – but two consecutive years of lighter crops: the OIV&

This year’s harvest is coming to a close with what appears to be an excellent vintage. However, the wine industry is facing worrisome challenges from a changing marketplace, accentuated by declining consumption, rising production costs and higher interest rates. These factors combine with overabundant past harvests to fuel an oversupply situation exacerbated by bulk grapes being returned to the bulk wine sector as unsold wine.   “I think that the industry is pretty darn risk-averse,” says Marc Cuneo, a wine broker and partner at Turrentine Brokerage. “After going out and trying to sell wine from bulk into the consumer retail space and not getting much positive feedback, we’re less likely to see opportunistic buyers putting together 10,000 cases of Sonoma Cabernet from the spot market.” “There’s a lot of excess inventory in the marketplace today, with far too many grapes than the wineries need right now,” agrees Christian Klier,