Prices and Tonnage Drop like a Rock
Napa Grape Prices Down 20 Percent -- Napa Cabernet Tonnage Down 42 Percent
February 11, 2021
In its preliminary crush report released yesterday, the California Agricultural Statistics Service (CASS) said 3.4 million tons of wine grapes were crushed in 2020, down 13 percent compared to 2019 when roughly 3.9 Million tons were crushed.
Red wine varieties accounted for 1,813,964 tons, down 15.9 percent from 2019 and white varieties totaled 1,590,335 tons, down 9.8 percent. The 2020 average price of all varieties was $674.72, down 16.8 percent. Average prices for red wine grapes were $791.33, down 22.4 percent and for white wine grapes were $554.74, down 5.9 percent from 2019.
The overall number, 3.4 million tons, was right in line with industry expectations. “It’s not surprising to see the total number because it’s exactly what the people who look at this all year long thought it would be,” Allied Grapegrowers President Jeff Bitter said. “It’s comforting to know what we’ve seen develop in the marketplace is a function of what we assumed about the crop – that it was 15-20 percent below what we would have had with an average crop.”