June 2024. The 2024 Winegrape Season will be here soon! Sign up and watch for my emails.
“Pesticide Free” and/or “Organic” grapes.
I get asked a lot “are the grapes Pesticide Free or Organic?” The answer according to vineyard managers is no, they are not pesticide free. Even organic fruits and vegetables are not pesticide free since something must be used to keep the ‘pests’ away. Growers use the gentlest, while effective, pesticides they can find and are very closely aligned with organic farmers when choosing pesticides. All grapes are grown using organic methods and are as pesticide free as possible.
WINEGRAPE VARIETALS THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE IN 2024
This list represents most of the varietals that will be available for the 2024 harvest. This list can and does change from year to year depending on what varietals are available for the current season.
In Brentwood, CA
Aglianico
Alicante-Bouschet
Barbera
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Sauvignon
Malbec
Montepulciano
Mourvedre
Petite Sirah
Pinot Gris
Sangiovese
Syrah
Tempranillo
Tinta Cao
Zinfandel
Montepulciano
Aglianico
*****
In Oakley, CA
Carignane (Old Vine)
Mataro (Mourvedre) (Double Gold) (Old Vine)
Zinfandel (Old Vine, around 1890-1900’s vintage)
Zinfandel (Oakley, 15 year old vines) (Double Gold in 2011)
Chardonnay
Malvasia Bianco
Merlot
Muscato
Rousanne
Marsanne
Malbec
Grenache
Barbera
Cabernet Franc
Touriga National
Tinta Cao
Tinta Roriz
Souzao
Valdepenas
Primitivo
How Are Prices Set For Winegrapes By The Pound?
When buying winegrapes it’s good to remember “You Get What You Pay For”.
Top quality Napa Cab winegrapes can cost as much as $12,000 a ton ($6.00/lb.) And, no, you can’t buy them at any price because they are not available.
The first choice of almost every winegrape grower is to sell their whole crop to a winery at a price per ton that will make them some money. If they can’t do that, then they will sell grapes to home winemakers by the pound.
Some growers use a low price to sell their grapes (like $0.50/lb.) This usually means they have not been able to attract a winery that will pay them the price they want when selling grapes by the ton.
Why won’t the wineries buy their grapes? Who knows, maybe it’s because of low quality. There are lots and lots of things that influence the quality of winegrapes.
Growing winegrapes is farming. There are many things that effect all farm products grown from year to year.
I deal with about 20 to 25 vineyards each year in Eastern Contra Costa County. I know the area. I know where good vineyards are, and where the not-so-good vineyards are.
Most of the vineyards I sell are harvested and the grapes sold to wineries. I get in and sell grapes to you (home winemakers) before the commercial guys harvest and take the whole crop.
Vineyard owners don’t want to sell you 100 or 200 lbs of grapes. They deal with me because I bring dozens of folks like you to their vineyards each year, and you collectively buy thousands of pounds of grapes.
Part of my job is to negotiate the price per pound they will accept from my wineo’s (home winemakers). Because I sell thousands of pounds of grapes for them, I can negotiate low per-pound prices for top quality winegrapes.
I don’t compete with growers that can only sell their grapes by offering them at a low price. I only sell top quality winegrapes that I personally know makes excellent wine.
I try to keep the “first pick” price per pound at or below $1.00/lb. for top quality grapes. For some very rare varietals I may offer them for as much as $1.25/lb.
As the season progresses, some vineyard owners will drop their price if they have not sold all of their grapes. Prices can go down to as low as $0.50/lb., sometimes lower.
If you are waiting for the lower price, always remember, when a vineyard is picked out… it done for the year. No more grapes. The season is over for that vineyard.
Prices for each varietal will be posted when a “pick” is announced along with the varietals being picked. Prices will be usually be between $0.60/lb and $1.00/lb.
Trust the CalWineBroker to deliver the best grapes for the best price.
See you at a “pick”.
Michael
CalWineBroker
email: info@calwinebroker.com
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