A $200 Million Dollar Grape Harvest Underway On the Central Coast
 |
“It’s a bladder press”, says Russell From of Barrel 27 Wines, “it's a press that we use to put white grapes in.”
From and his partners are among several local vintners that press, barrel and bottle smaller brand wine under one massive roof at Central Coast Wine Services in Santa Maria.
Many have garnered national recognition.
“Our price point is anywhere between 14 and 25, and that seems to be a good price point right now”, says Barrel 27’s From, “and we're making the wine as much as we can, as fast as we can.”
But is the crisis on Wall Street and its reverberation across the country and the world, putting the squeeze on the local wine industry?
“It puts a little more pressure on us to make better wine”, says From, “good wine always sells.”
Vintners say it could be harder for smaller players to expand their businesses.
“What I hear is the people who are solid are not going to have a problem getting money”, says independent vintner Jeffrey Wilkes, “the people who are a little shaky may have some problems.”
Wine grapes were number one in San Luis ObispoCounty last year, accounting for nearly $142 million dollars, down about ten percent from 2006.
The grapes were number two in Santa BarbaraCounty in 2007, worth nearly $100 million dollars, also down from 2006.
“The yields coming out of the vineyards now are lower than average and this is definitely going to be a smaller harvest than we've seen in the last couple of years”, says Chris Brown of Central Coast Wine Services, “in general though when you have a smaller harvest you can look forward to some superior quality.”
Vintners say the weather this year made it an early, and possibly even longer, wine grape harvest than in previous years.
The grape harvest is expected to continue until at least the end of October.
A $200 Million Dollar Grape Harvest Underway On the Central Coast
Last Update: 9/22 6:40 pm
Print Story | Email Story
9/22/08
SANTA MARIA - CentralCoast vines by the ton and trucked to local wineries for pressing and barreling. - Wine grapes are coming off
“It’s a bladder press”, says Russell From of Barrel 27 Wines, “it's a press that we use to put white grapes in.”
From and his partners are among several local vintners that press, barrel and bottle smaller brand wine under one massive roof at Central Coast Wine Services in Santa Maria.
Many have garnered national recognition.
“Our price point is anywhere between 14 and 25, and that seems to be a good price point right now”, says Barrel 27’s From, “and we're making the wine as much as we can, as fast as we can.”
But is the crisis on Wall Street and its reverberation across the country and the world, putting the squeeze on the local wine industry?
“It puts a little more pressure on us to make better wine”, says From, “good wine always sells.”
Vintners say it could be harder for smaller players to expand their businesses.
“What I hear is the people who are solid are not going to have a problem getting money”, says independent vintner Jeffrey Wilkes, “the people who are a little shaky may have some problems.”
Wine grapes were number one in San Luis ObispoCounty last year, accounting for nearly $142 million dollars, down about ten percent from 2006.
The grapes were number two in Santa BarbaraCounty in 2007, worth nearly $100 million dollars, also down from 2006.
“The yields coming out of the vineyards now are lower than average and this is definitely going to be a smaller harvest than we've seen in the last couple of years”, says Chris Brown of Central Coast Wine Services, “in general though when you have a smaller harvest you can look forward to some superior quality.”
Vintners say the weather this year made it an early, and possibly even longer, wine grape harvest than in previous years.
The grape harvest is expected to continue until at least the end of October.