Does Ag Diversity Hinder Monterey Wine?

40,000 acres of winegrapes add up to the No. 6 crop in the California county

Monterey, Calif. -- Three-dozen media representatives from across the continent received an intensive education about the grapes, wines and produce grown in vast and varied Monterey County during the 13th annual Great Wine Escape hosted by the nonprofit Monterey County Vintner and Growers Association (montereywines.org).

As the journalists toured the county they saw that although the city of Monterey hugs the shore of Monterey Bay, most of the county’s 2 million-plus acres lie inland, spanning rugged mountain ranges and sprawling valleys. Winegrapes are planted on 40,000 acres of the Monterey appellation and the smaller Arroyo Seco, Carmel Valley, Chalone, Hames Valley, San Antonio Valley, San Bernabe and Santa Lucia Highlands AVAs. These viticultural areas are distinguished by wildly divergent topography, soils and microclimates, giving Monterey County good settings for many varieties of winegrape.

And still, some growers and vintners believe that Monterey has yet to make its mark at the top of the world’s wine lists. Perhaps the very diversity that sets Monterey apart hinders its recognition. In-demand Burgundian varieties Pinot Noir and Chardonnay thrive on the fog-bound alluvial fans of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Rhône, Bordeaux and Iberian varieties are more at home in the sunnier climes of Carmel Valley, for instance.

But the true diversity comes from Monterey County’s non-grape produce. It’s Steinbeck country, after all. Unlike the California North Coast’s virtual monoculture, Monterey’s winegrapes rank only No. 6 on the county’s list of agricultural commodities by value. Leaf lettuce takes first place, followed by strawberries, iceberg lettuce, nursery products and broccoli. There are even 400 acres planted to prickly pear cactus, tucked between lush vineyards along River Road beneath the Santa Lucia Highlands.

The Monterey County Agriculture Commission pegs the value of the winegrapes at $238.36 million; this figure, of course, does not take into account the value added when the grapes are made into wine, or the dollars spent by visitors to the county’s wineries and tasting rooms.

Although harvesting and other vineyard tasks are mechanized in a surprising proportion of vineyards here, one grower noted that the variety of row crops grown in the Salinas Valley keeps the area populated with skilled, year-round farmworkers, a luxury many viticulture regions do not enjoy.

Monterey County grapegrowers have also taken a lead position in the movement toward sustainable agriculture. Last year, the Central Coast Vineyard Team introduced its SIP (Sustainability in Practice) program, developed over five years in concert with local growers. Already, 10,000 acres of vineyards in Monterey and neighboring counties have achieved certification through a rigorous, annually audited process. Certified vineyards range from 4 to 1,000 acres, according to CCVT executive director Kris O’Connor.

Perhaps another reason vineyard labor is abundant here: SIP-certified vineyards adhere to practices in support of the “triple bottom line” of sustainability, the three “E”s representing economic, environmental and social equity sustainability. Farmworkers at SIP vineyards receive benefits including enrollment in company 401(k) plans. In this economy, that’s a strong motivation to stick around.

In addition to the journalists, some 2,000 consumers from as far away as Montreal spent last weekend soaking up the sun, wine and food of Monterey County during the Great Wine Escape weekend.