Growers seek prominence for Central Valley grapes

KEYES -- Ken Yonan's grapevines will start to leaf out in a few days onto trellises designed to get them plenty of sunlight.

It's a technique that boosts the quality and quantity of the grapes, said Yonan, who has grown them for wineries for most of his 67 years.

Thursday, he hosted a meeting with fellow San Joaquin Valley growers that had one main theme: The region can serve the wine consumer best if it combines its high-volume tradition with an increasing emphasis on quality.

"I believe you can have volume and quality," Yonan said. "I don't think they fight each other."

The meeting was put on by the San Joaquin Valley Winegrowers Association and the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.

The valley group aims to raise the reputation of grapes grown between Stockton and Bakersfield. This stretch produces most of California's harvest, but at prices far below what growers get in Lodi, Napa and other premium areas.

The recession has many consumers seeking good wine at $8 or less per bottle, said John Ciatti, a partner in Ciatti Co., a grape and wine brokerage in San Rafael.

"The grapes that you guys grow are going into these value wines, and it's nice to see that growing," he said.

This price category isn't just cheap jug or box wine. It includes brands such as Turning Leaf and Barefoot Cellars from E.&J. Gallo Winery of Modesto as well as products from The Wine Group near Ripon, Bronco Wine Co. near Ceres and DFV Wines (formerly Delicato) near Manteca.

The quality effort has been going on for several years. It involves choosing the right grape varieties for the valley climate and pruning and irrigating in ways that concentrate the flavor in each grape.

Stan Grant, a vineyard consultant based in Turlock, demonstrated several devices that measure the moisture in plant tissues and soil so growers can irrigate only when needed. He advised them not to take this to an extreme.

"Are they forecasting triple digits, and is my soil moisture at the ragged edge?" Grant said. "I had better get some water on it."

Ciatti said valley growers need to keep their volume up to meet the demand for affordable wines. He urged them to keep producing market stalwarts such as cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay and to try emerging, intensely flavored reds such as malbec and petite sirah.

Valley grapes go into most of California's wine exports, which rose last year thanks to a weak dollar, said Greg MaGill, a broker with Ciatti Co. Sales to Europe did especially well, he said.

"It gave us exposure," MaGill said. "We've really created a whole new drinking audience and accentuated that because of the weakness of the dollar."

Yonan grows merlot and chardonnay on his 46 acres next to Highway 99 and sells the grapes to several wineries.

Well, most of the grapes. He keeps a little for home winemaking, which helps him monitor the quality of his fruit.

After decades in the business, Yonan is open to learning all he can.

"I really believe that if we educate ourselves -- and in this valley start growing better wine -- we will be competitive in the market," he said.