Pinot Noir loses, Merlot gains - „Sideways“ effect reversed

In 2011, the total yield in California amounted to about 3.34 million tons (about 6.9 percent less than in 2010 and after 2008, the year with the lowest yield, as the US Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported in a press release. The reduced yield was due to the wet weather in winter and in spring and, thus, a retarded fruit setting. Even though, the Institute characterizes the 2011 vintage as “excellent” but admits that the upscale category wines contain somewhat less alcohol than usually, which is due to the “light and late harvest”.

According to the NASS, the red wine yield decreased by 6.5 percent to 1.92 million tons, and the white wine yield decreased by 7.3 percent to 1.43 million tons compared to the 2010 vintage. In 2011, the average price for all types of grapes, including table grapes, amounted to 588.96 US-Dollar per ton (about 447 euro). This is 8 percent more than in the year before and 3 percent more than in the record year 2009.

According to the NASS, the grapes from the Napa Couny attained the highest prices with an average of 3,400 US dollar per ton (about 2,580 euro) – 5 percent more than the year before. Grapes from Sonoma and from the Marin Counties attained an average of 2,081 US dollar per ton (about 1,580 euro) – an increase of 3 percent.

This has been the first time since 2004 that a reversal of the pinot noir prices and the merlot prices began to emerge. At the time, “Sideways”, a cinema hit, had led to a noticeable increase of the prices for pinot noir grapes. In 2011, the prices for pinot noir grapes decreased by 21.7 percent to an average of 1,265 US dollar per ton (about 960 euro) – in comparison, the prices for merlot grapes increased by 13 percent and, thus, attained an average of 691 US dollar per ton (about 525 euro). (red.yoopress)