At Annual Harvest Press Conference Napa Valley Grapegrowers Expect Ideal Harvest, Good Vintage
(PRWEB) August 08, 2013 -- The 2013 Napa Valley wine grape harvest, now underway, is forecast to be of average yield but high quality, according to the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, who live-streamed its annual Harvest Press Conference, Wednesday, August 7 from Trefethen Family Vineyards. Lower than average rainfall combined with a warm Spring and a heat wave in late June/early July is producing smaller berries and loose clusters - a signal of high quality. The weather, including a lack of damaging frost and higher degree days than last year, will result in a harvest that – valley wide – is 10 to 14 days earlier than 2012.
“It was not an easy year,” said Jon Ruel, Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) President/ COO, Trefethen Family Vineyards. “The weather forced us to respond to the vintage at hand, rolling out a variety of viticultural practices quickly and earlier than usual in order to ensure a great crop. This year proves grapegrowers have to be ready when the grapes are, not the other way around.”
To watch the press conference, please visit: Napa Valley Grapegrowers 2013 press conference.
Press conference highlights:
Weather
• Minimal rain and a warm Spring forced grape growers to use a variety of viticultural practices to mitigate heat damage, including:
• Early Spring irrigation and, during the heat wave, afternoon watering; the latter was done by micro-sprinkling and pulse watering to allow careful water management
• Less canopy management, allowing natural shade and dappled sunlight, and the use of shade cloth to protect the grapes in the early growth stages
• Early ‘suckering’ to remove unwanted growth
• July 2013 was the warmest July since 2003
• April 2013 was seven degrees warmer than 2012 (almost as warm as 1997, a fantastic Cabernet Sauvignon vintage)
• Napa Valley experienced 75% of normal rainfall in the 2012–2013 rainy season, with 18 inches falling in November and December
• Napa Valley 2012-2013 rainy season totaled 25 inches vs. 33 inches the previous year
• 2013 was the third year of erratic, unpredictable weather
• The weather helped produce much uniformity throughout the growing season – uniform bloom, uniform harvest – key to a good vintage
Demand for Napa Valley Grapes
• 2012 harvest value was over $650 million
• 2012 average ton valued at $3,500
• 2012 average ton of Cabernet Sauvignon valued at $5,000
• Demand for Napa vines at nurseries for planting worldwide slowed with the discovery of ‘Red Blotch,’ a virus that appears to reduce the Brix levels of infected vines; Napa Valley grapegrowers test for the virus before planting to ensure they are planting ‘clean’ vines
• Current replanting echoes the replanting of the 1980s, forcing a decrease in supply in the short term
• Demand for Napa Valley grapes, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, remains high; all 2013 grapes have been ‘spoken for’
Technology
• Many vineyards are equipping vineyard manager and supervisors with iPads which allows
• Broad sharing of information, once held only by vineyard senior staff and the winemaking team
• iPad camera enables immediate, geo-tagged photos of areas of concern, allowing immediate action
• Fun pictures – like a major brand delivery truck getting ‘stuck’ in a vineyard
Labor
• Minimal shortages in Spring
• Shortages being eliminated by the fact that grape growing is now a nearly year round enterprise
• Napa is the only county in California to have an assessment on all growers that built three farmworker centers, where individuals benefit from lodging, meals, laundry, and recreational amenities
• Napa Valley Grapegrowers Farmworker Education Foundation educated over 4,000 farmworkers to date through such programs as quality in the vineyard; safety; and personal success tools such as financial advice, ESL opportunities and information on various community services
Press conference speakers:
• Jon Ruel - Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) President; COO, Trefethen Family Vineyards
• Allison Cellini - NVG member, Assistant Viticulturist at Renteria Vineyard Management
• Remi Cohen - NVG member; Director of Winemaking & Viticulture, Cliff Lede Vineyards
About Napa Valley Grapegrowers
The Napa Valley Grapegrowers is a non-profit trade organization that has played a vital role in strengthening Napa Valley's reputation as a world-class viticultural region for over 38 years. Its mission is to preserve and promote Napa Valley’s world-class vineyards. NVG represents over 650 Napa County grapegrowers and associated businesses. For more information, visit http://www.napagrowers.org. Follow Napa Valley Grapegrowers on Facebook and Twitter.
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Judy Rowcliffe, Rowcliffe Communications Grp, (415) 456 4131, [email protected]
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