The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service just released their preliminary grape crush report for 2022, revealing a total crush 3,620,595 tons, down 6.7% from the 2021 crush of 3,880,141 tons. Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of all grapes crushed, at 1,885,875 tons, down 7.2% from 2021. White wine varieties crushed totaled 1,463,787 tons, down 8.6% from 2021. Tons crushed of raisin type varieties totaled 103,812, down 24.8% from 2021, and tons crushed of table type varieties totaled 167,121, up 54.9% from 2021.
“The total California 2022 winegrape crush of 3.35 million tons, the lightest in over a decade, played a significant role in the overall market for grapes and bulk wine in 2022 and continues to be a contributing factor to the moderate to strong levels of demand the market is currently experiencing,” shared Audra Cooper, Central Coast Grape Broker at Turrentine Brokerage.
The 2022 average price of all varieties was $910.80, up 5.7% from 2021. Average prices for the 2022 crop by type were as follows: red wine grapes, $1,150.58, up 7.2% from 2021; white wine grapes, $682.07, up 1.0% from 2021; raisin grapes, $314.27, up 7.8% from 2021; and table grapes, $215.64, up 17.9% from 2021.
In 2022, Cabernet Sauvignon surpassed Chardonnay as the variety with the largest percentage of the total tonnage crushed at 15.4%. Chardonnay accounted for the second largest percentage of the total crush at 14.4%. Raisin grape varieties crushed for wine accounted for 2.9% of the total crush and table varieties crushed for wine were 4.6% of the total crush.
District 13 (Madera, Fresno, Alpine, Mono, Inyo Counties; and Kings and Tulare Counties north of Nevada Avenue (Avenue 192)), had the largest share of the State’s crush at 1,149,339 tons. The average price per ton in District 13 was $357.48.
Grapes produced in District 4 (Napa County) received the highest average price at $6,847.19 per ton, up 12.2% from 2021. District 3 (Sonoma and Marin counties) received the second highest average price at $2,858.39 per ton, up 6.4% from 2021.
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon average price of $1,892.40 was up 13.8% from 2021 and the Chardonnay average price of $1,014.63 was up 3.9% from 2021. The 2022 average price for French Colombard was $330.64, up 1.9% from 2021, while the Zinfandel average price was up 0.7% from 2021, at $651.06 per ton.
The entire Preliminary Grape Crush Report is available online at www.nass.usda.gov/ca. See the March issue of American Vineyard Magazine for an in-depth (and animated) analysis of the Crush Report.
