"Dave Massoni is leaving town. More than 150 years after his family began farming in Healdsburg, the 66-year-old winegrower is getting out of the business and moving to Nevada. I've been farming grapes since I was 18 and this is the worst year I've ever seen, said Massoni, owner of Massoni Ranch in Healdsburg. I have beautiful fruit just hanging on the vine and I can't sell it. I had prospective buyers, but they all went silent."
"Massoni is not alone. Jeff Bitter, a wine industry analyst and president of Allied Grape Growers in Healdsburg, predicts 2025 could be California's smallest grape crush in 30 years. In response to the sluggish wine market, many wine producers are scaling back production, leaving countless growers stranded with unsold fruit. Jeff Bitter, president of Allied Grape Growers, recommends that 50,000 acres of grapevines be removed in California to balance supply and demand."
"California produces nearly 3 million tons of wine grapes each year, but Bitter speculates nearly a half-million tons will go uncrushed this harvest. We knew this was going to be a pretty painful harvest for most growers We just didn't know how bad it was going to hurt, said Bitter in a post-harvest press conference with the California Association of Winegrape Growers on Nov. 5."
Productores de uva en California enfrentan una fuerte caída de demanda que deja fruta sin vender y contratos cancelados. Agricultores veteranos están abandonando la actividad o arrancando viñas porque resulta más barato que cosechar y pagar seguros. Se prevé que 2025 podría ser la cosecha más pequeña en 30 años y hasta medio millón de toneladas podrían quedar sin prensar. Muchos elaboradores reducen la producción y piden salir de contratos por temor a impagos. Se recomienda arrancar 50,000 acres para equilibrar oferta y demanda. California produce casi 3 millones de toneladas anuales de uva, por lo que el volumen sin prensar es significativo.
Read at www.pressdemocrat.com
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