October 15, 2003
Pennywise Pound FoolishWhen I visited friends and relatives in Omaha, my aunt who just turned 90 gave me a bunch of clippings and articles on Nebraska wine from the Omaha World-Herald. She is an ardent reader of newspapers, and probably spends several hours a day reading the World-Herald.
I was particularly intrigued by an August 2003 business section piece on Nebraska wine. The writer wrote, "A vineyard can average about 5 tons of grapes per acre. Grape prices bring $800 to $1,000 a ton. Comparatively, an acre of dryland corn produces, in good years, about 100 bushels an acre. The market price for corn is about $2 a bushel."
It would be hard to argue against planting grapes-$200 vs. $4000 to $5000. It's a no-brainer. Here in California-Los Alamos where I live-I have heard people say, "we don't like all of these vineyards going in; we miss the open range and the cattle." My retort: "It's a lot to ask of a rancher to lose his or her butt growing cattle when there's a lot more to be made growing wine grapes."
Whether you are in California or Nebraska, there are assumptions being made that raise some serious questions. In the wine article in the World-Herald, five ton yields may be "pie in the sky." Looking at the current harvest here, for example, your best farmed vineyards for pinot noir are showing yields at two tons per acre or less. I should point out, too, that yields are down for 2003.
Furthermore, tonnage prices of $800 to $1000 a ton may be "pie in the sky" as well, especially for grape varieties like riesling and edelweiss, which apparently grow well in Nebraska.
There is a grape glut. For most varietals, prices are drastically lower. Riesling here is going for $700 to $1000 a ton, Jeff Newton of Coastal Vineyard Care Associates tells me. And it goes to figure that riesling grown in the cool climates of the Los Alamos and Santa Maria Valleys will produce a superior fruit than that grown in hot, dry, Nebraska.
When I spoke to Jeff, we were reminiscing about the great rieslings produced in Santa Barbara County back in the 70s by such producers as Rancho Sisquoc and Santa Ynez Valley Winery. Unfortunately, as Jeff reminded me, very little riesling remains planted. Most has been grafted over to chardonnay, where the spot market for this vintage is terrible! Growers are getting $500 to $600 a ton, and older contracts that had reached $1300 to $1400 a ton are being negotiated down.
Maybe the tide will turn, and some of this chardonnay will be grafted over to French columbard or back to riesling.
Growers who produce the best fruit in California know that "less is more." Lower yields will make better wine. This is something growers in Nebraska will have to grapple with also.
Bon appetit!
Santa Maria Times Wine columnist, Bob Senn, lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
