Ontario grape prices affirmed
Plateau pricing to continue; plan intends to absorb surplus grapes
The Grape Growers of Ontario, Wine Council of Ontario and Winery & Grower Alliance of Ontario have agreed to the extension of the 2010 pricing arrangement into 2011. Photo source: Lucas Gillett
Vineland Station, Ontario—White winegrape prices will increase by 1% in accordance with the two-year pricing agreement reached last year for most hybrid and vinifera winegrape varieties. The Grape Growers of Ontario, Wine Council of Ontario and Winery & Grower Alliance of Ontario have agreed to the extension of the 2010 pricing arrangement into 2011. Red hybrid and vinifera varieties will remain unchanged from 2010. Ontario currently has 128 licensed wineries, according to WinesVinesDATA.
The following prices for some winegrape varieties in 2011 are quoted in Canadian dollars per tonne:
Variety 2010 price 2011 price
De Chaunac and Rosette $659 $659
Maréchal Foch $780 $780
Baco Noir and Chambourcin $843 $843
New York Muscat $520 $520
Seyval Blanc and Vidal $594 $600
Johannisberg Riesling $1,382 $1,396
Auxerrois $1,204 $1,216
Chardonnay $1,410 $1,424
Gewürztraminer $1,539 $1,554
Pinot Gris $1,579 $1,575
Sauvignon Blanc $1,554 $1,570
Gamay and Zweigeltrebe $1,283 $1,283
Pinot Noir $1,933 $1,933
Cabernet Sauvignon $1,875 $1,875
Cabernet Franc $1,676 $1,676
Merlot $1,894 $1,894
Shiraz $2,164 $2,164
Several other prices related to late harvest wines or ice wines remain unchanged. The minimum price for ice wine grapes is 125% of the price based on normal harvest. Ice wine juice prices, again in Canadian dollars, are: hybrid juice: $15.76 per liter at 35º Brix; and vinifera juice: $24.16 per liter at 35º Brix. The price for late harvest hybrid juice stays at $4.58 per liter at 26º Brix.
Plateau-pricing pilot for four varieties
All three parties also agreed to continue the pilot plateau-pricing model inaugurated last year for Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The plateau pricing for 2011 applies as follows (with the 2011 base price and the Brix level at that price in parentheses):
• Johannisberg Riesling ($1,396, 19.1º) 17.3º-18.5º Brix $1,200/tonne
• Chardonnay ($1,424, 21.0º) 19.1º-20.4º Brix $1,200/tonne
• Cabernet Sauvignon ($1,875, 21.4º) 18.2º-20.8º Brix $1,300/tonne
• Cabernet Franc ($1,676, 21.3º) 18.8º-20.7º Brix $1,300/tonne
There will be no tonnage restriction, and no new varieties have been added to the program. As was the case last year, plateau pricing is limited to deliveries made within the Brix window shown for each variety. The Brix level each year is based on a five-year rolling average. Deliveries at higher Brix levels must be paid for at the 2011 base price plus applicable sugar bonuses.
Processors must advise growers well ahead of harvest of their intent to purchase grapes at plateau pricing, and growers are encouraged to work with their processors to ensure that their grapes are harvested within the plateau-pricing range. One reason for the early date to reach agreement to continue plateau pricing in 2011 is to enable growers to make any needed adjustments to their pruning strategy for the coming year.
Plateau pricing was inaugurated in 2010 to give wineries the option of buying lower cost grapes of varieties in surplus. The likelihood of a surplus this year has diminished because of low winter temperatures that may result in a 30% decrease in the 2011 harvest.
Temperatures dropped to between minus-24 and minus-25ºC in Niagara-on-the-Lake and minus-28.7ºC on the escarpment above Grimsby. Vines began to lose their dormancy during a warm spell in late January and another in late February.
The danger from spring frosts will not be over until May. As of April 4, pruning has been completed, no buds have pushed, and it is estimated that temperatures would have to fall to minus-12ºC for vines to be hurt. There has been no reported damage from spring frosts to this point.