California Wine Grape Harvest, 2009 Update

The 2009 California winegrape crush tonnage came in much higher than expected at 3.7 million tons, up about 200,000 tons over projections. The preliminary, early estimate for the 2010 California crush is 3.5 million tons.

The big extra tonnage came in from California interior regions, where the crush reached a record high 2.7 million tons. By color, it was white grapes that reached all time high production in 2009.

The California coastal winegrape crop for key varietals was mostly "normal" in size, based on historical production levels, except for Pinot Noir. The total coastal crush was sizable, at 970,000 tons, but this mostly balanced a very low harvest in 2008.

The giant total California winegrape crop means that the U.S. wine market will remain highly competitive over the next few years. This is likely to spur demand as adult consumers respond to the growing availability of great wine values.