harvest reports
Vineyard Math
To My Friends:
The following document is reference material you can use to impress the experts (or stump the chumps). The information about volumes and weights would hold true for Benziger Sonoma County wines, our Reserve and Estate wines would be significantly lower.
The information about grapes farming and land costs is a snapshot of a moving target. A target that is moving fast in 2003. I think prices in general will continue to drop, how much is unknown.
Lastly, I have included some information about supply and wine consumption patterns that I hope you will find interesting. It looks like we wont run out of wine in the short or mid-term future.
On a typical 8' X 5' spacing for high quality Cabernet Sauvignon:
- Vines per acre: 1,089
- Buds per plant: 28
- Clusters per shoot: 1.25 (avg.)
- Cluster weight: .2 lb/95 grams (avg.)
- Pounds of grapes per plant: 7.35
- Tons per acre: 4
- Pounds of grapes per case: 33
- Pounds of grapes per bottle: 2.77
- Bottles per acre: 2,880
- Bottles per plant: 2.5
- Gallons per ton finished red: 160
- Gallons per case: 2.38/9 liters
- Cases per acre: 240
- Cases per 60 gallon barrel: 24
- Cases per ton: 60
- Bottles per ton: 720
- Grapes in one bottle: 630
Rough Viticultural Costs (no debt):
- Farming per acre: $3,500-$5,500
- Estimated Vineyard Costs Sonoma:
- Bare land: $30,000-40,000+
- Planted land: $60,000-75,000+
- Cost to plant/acre: $30,000-55,000
Grape costs per ton (approximate):
- Cabernet Sauvignon: $2,300-3,000
- Merlot: $1,800-2,200
- Pinot Noir: $1,800-3,000
- (lower priced PN for sparkling)
- Chardonnay: $1,200-1,800
- Sauvignon Blanc: $1,100-1,300
- Syrah: $1,800-2,200
- Zinfandel: $2,200-3,000 (Old vines: $3,000+)
| Vineyard Appellation | Owned by | Grapes Purchased |
|---|---|---|
| Ash Creek | John & Susan Statzer | Alexander Valley CS,ME |
| Bartolucci | Ron & Deanna Bartolucci | Lake County CS, ME |
| Caton | Ty & Brook Caton | Sonoma Valley CS,ME,SY,PS |
| Dragonsleaf Mountain | Peter Drake | Sonoma SY, GR, CN, PN, ME |
| Glen Oaks | Clarence & Becky Jenkins | Sonoma Valley CS, ME, PV |
| Pusich | Dick & Lois Pusich | Alex. Valley CS |
| Ricci Carneros | Dale Ricci | Carneros CH, ME, PN, SY |
| Rolling Knolls | Brian Greer | Lake County SB, MA, SY |
| Rose | Steve & Coleen Rose | Sonoma ME |
| Sangiacomo | Sangiacomo Family | Carneros CH, PN, ME |
| Weinstock | Rob & Barbara Weinstock | Alexander Valley ME, CH, SB |
Other Interesting Information
In 2001, US market had about 570,000 acres of wine producing land. Of this, about 40 to 60,000 acres were not yet producing as of 2002.
In 2002, US producers made 240 million cases. (California 217 million cases or 90% of all wine production). Imports into US accounted for 62 million cases. Exports out of US accounted for 32 million cases.
Approximate wine available for purchase in US: 270 million cases. Annual current consumption approximately: 250 million cases. Annual surplus approximately 20 million cases. This surplus is expected to grow.
In 2003, harvest has the potential to be up over 10% because of new plantings coming on line.
Globally, about 50% of all wine sells for less than $5.00. Wines between $5-7.00 account for 34% of the sales volume. Wines above $14.00 represent 5-6% of industry volume.
Wine consumption in the US is anticipated to grow at 3-5% annually.
Benziger Family Vineyards
Sonoma Mountain, April 25, 2003