Final grape crush report released by USDA

The state's final grape crush report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture said wine grapes in 2010 produced 3% less than the previous year's crush.

The 2010 crush was about 3.99 million tons, compared with the 2009 crush of 4.1 million tons, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service office in Sacramento.

Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of 2010 grapes crushed at 2.05 million tons, down 1% from the previous year. White wine grapes accounted for 1.54 million tons of the 2010 crush, down 5%.

Tons crushed of raisin-type varieties in 2010 totaled about 273,600, down 11% from 2009, and tons crushed of table-type varieties totaled about 123,750, up 46%.

The 2010 average price of all grape crush varieties was $545, down 5% from 2009. Average prices for the 2010 crop by type were: red wine grapes, $628, down 6%; white wine grapes, $501, down 6%; raisin grapes, $215, up 26%; and table grapes, $174, up 21%.

In 2010, Chardonnay accounted for the largest percentage of the crush volume with 16.5%. Cabernet Sauvignon was second with 11.2%. The next eight percentages were all wine grape varieties, except for Thompson Seedless.

District 13, which includes Madera and Fresno counties and Kings and Tulare counties north of Nevada Avenue (Avenue 192), had the largest share of the state’s 2010 crush at more than 1.36 million tons. The average price per ton was $263.42.

Grapes from District 4, Napa County, received the highest average price of about $3,238 per ton, down 5%. District 3, Sonoma and Marin counties, got the second highest return of $2,011, down 8%.

The entire grape crush report is available at www.nass.usda.gov/ca.