It’s a lot
like my other “shoulda” investments. You
know, the ones that got away. Why didn’t
I invest dollars and time in vineyards in El Dorado County ten years ago instead
of going to conferences and tastings and deciding to write about the wine
industry? Dummy me.
HERE’S THE
SOURCE OF MY REGRET: Not only did
bearing acreage of vineyards in El Dorado County, CA, increase more than 40
percent over the ten year period 2002-2012, but so did the total crop values. They increased 67 percent. To repeat: El Dorado county wine grape total
crop value increased 67 percent!
The El Dorado
Wine Grape Growers Association website has references to
the Gold Rush days in El Dorado county;
after all, the Gold Rush began in 1848 at Coloma on January 24, when James Marshall discovered
gold in the tailrace at Sutter's Mill.
But it appears from these basic figures on wine grapes that there is a
new kind of gold in the vineyards of El Dorado County. Pretty much, although wine grape cultivation
began here before the Gold Rush, the Wine Grape Gold Rush began in earnest in
1967.
Over the
course of this blog,
I’ll talk about some of the pioneering vineyard owners, their victories and
travails as they work the sometimes-challenging Sierra Foothills terroir, the
wineries that use these grapes, the wines, what wine grapes are for sale right
now (click here for a quick peek)
and why these El Dorado wine grapes are worth a premium price if you are intent
on making good wine.
The chart
below is courtesy of statistics gleaned from the El Dorado County Ag Commissioner. These folks, along with the farm adviser from
the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources group, work hard
in the wine grape sector. You can dig
deeper if you want into decades of Annual Crop Reports at the Ag Commission
website: click here
WHAT’S
THE FUTURE HOLD?
Well, I’d
say, more of the same. In just the past
year statistics show that in 2012 the El Dorado wine grape industry continued
to grow and increased its total value from $5.1 million in 2011 to $7.8 million
in 2012. And what I’m hearing about the
2013 harvest … Whoopee! Stay tuned!
By the way,
wine grapes are a significant contributor to the financial picture of El Dorado
County: in 2012 they were 16.5% of the total gross agricultural value of the
County. Pretty impressive. And pretty important.
|
|
2012
|
2011
|
2010
|
2009
|
2008
|
2002
|
|
Total Acreage
|
2404
|
2282
|
2207
|
2007
|
2220
|
2147
|
|
Bearing Acreage
|
2060
|
2010
|
1946
|
1760
|
1901
|
1464
|
|
Production per Acre (tons)
|
2.75
|
2.12
|
2.40
|
2.93
|
2.20
|
2.77
|
|
Production Total tons
|
5,675
|
4,269
|
4668
|
5165
|
4182
|
4060
|
|
Value per ton (avg
price, all varietals)
|
$1322
|
$1295
|
$1279
|
$1267
|
$1265
|
$1199
|
|
Total Value
Per
Crop Values reported in the El Dorado County Wine Grape Surveys |
$7,823,538
|
$5,137,223
|
4,494,612
|
5,885,447
|
$5,229,088
|
$4,680,000
|
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