california wine grapes wine grapes 7 california sustainable winegrowing alliance certification based...

California Wine Grapes

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Figure 1. Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes, Yountville, California (Palmer, 2017).

Sharon Palmer, RDN

Vegetables & Fruit: Farm to Plate Sustainability

Master Sustainable Food Systems, Green Mountain College

October 15, 2017


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Introduction

As I write this report on the value chain of California wine grapes, Napa and Sonoma

Valleys (Fig. 1)—premier wine producing regions in the state, as well as the country and the

entire world—are engulfed in flames from a wild fire. While the loss of life has been

devastating, with 40 deaths and hundreds still missing, the California wine industry is bracing

itself for its own losses (Baron, Almond, & Krieger, 2017). However, like the very California

wine industry itself, the vineyards are a tenacious lot, suffering less impact than wine lovers

feared. Most of the 200,000 acres burned were native vegetation, and even when the flames

leapt at the vineyards the open spacing style of cultivation and green status of the vines preserved

them from fire. An estimated 85% of the grapes had already been harvested when the fire

approached, but the region’s famous Cabernet Sauvignon fruit is still left on the vines. If the

quality of these grapes suffers, consumers might expect bottles to go up 150% (Mohan, 2017).

The story of today’s survival of California’s famous wine region is a symbol of the

rugged endurance, ingenuity, and optimism this industry has mounted over the past two and a

half centuries to become what it is today: The number one wine state in the United States, and

the fourth largest producer in the world (Fig. 2).

History of Wine Production

Humans have been enjoying beverages made from fermented grapes for thousands of

years. The first evidence of wine-making from wild grapes dates back to central China some

9,000 years ago (Borrell, 2009). In Iran’s Zagros Mountains, residue from fermented grapes was

discovered in 7,400-year old jars. However, archaeologists think we’ve been enjoying wine

(Fig. 3) as far back as the Paleolithic period, possibly for its medicinal purposes (Borrell, 2009).


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Figure 2. The Economic Impact of the California Wine and Winegrape Industry (Wine Institute,

2016).

Wine production took place during civilizations in the late Bronze Age, with evidence of wine

vessels, presses, and cellars during that time. The rise of the Greek and Roman empires brought

wine to the masses, as well as its regulation in attempts to control cultivation and verify its

authenticity. The Romans were the first to categorize wine into a hierarchical system—


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Figure 3. Drinking Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamble Family Vineyards, Napa Valley, California

(Palmer, 2017).

reminiscent of today’s classification—based on where it was grown, with this tradition

continuing throughout Europe, in particular in France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. It was the

spread of Christianity that brought wine to the forefront, as the Church required a supply of wine

for monks and their guests (Munsie, 2002).

When the Europeans came to the New World, they tried growing wine grapes in the East

Coast, but it didn’t go well due to the climate. They would eventually discover the magic that is

wine grapes kissed by the California sun and nourished by its soils. More than 240 years ago,

Father Junipero established the first winery in a California mission, and then wave after wave of


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immigrants from France, Germany, and Italy furthered his wine-making tradition, rustic though

it might have been (WIOC, 2012). By the mid-1800s, immigrants started bringing back vines

from Europe to plant in California, slowly influencing the quality of the wines (Munsie, 2002).

But it wasn’t until the “Judgment of Paris” in 1976, during which California wines outshone

French wines in a blind taste test, that California became a hot spot on the wine-making map

(Taber, 2006).

The famous wine critic Robert Parker, is credited for promoting the quality of California

wines to where they are today, with award-winning cult wines going for thousands of dollars per

bottle (McNeil, 2001). Today, California’s wine industry (Fig. 2) employs 786,000 people,

generates $114 billion in economic activity, and produces 238 million cases of wine for the

country in 4,700 bonded wineries that are mainly family-owned, multi-generational businesses

on over 602,000 acres (WIOC, 2012).

Wine Production in California

California wine production is unique, because the state (Fig. 4) has such a diverse range

of soils, terroirs, and climates, which increases the number of grape varieties that can be grown,

such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Syrah, and Grenache, to name just a few.

(Wine Institute, 2016). While Napa Valley is the most famous wine-producing region in the

state, other popular regions include Sonoma Country, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County, and

the Sierra Foothills (Fig. 4).

Wine making begins in the vineyard (Fig. 1), with the choice of site, grape varieties and

clones to plant, and plans for how the grapes will be trellised and cared for (McNeil, 2001).

Wine grape agriculture may include the use of chemical inputs (fertilizers and pesticides),


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Figure 4. California Wine Appellations. (Wine Spectator, n.d.).

irrigation (though some “dry farm”), and monoculture. However, increasingly sustainable

cultivation is becoming more prevalent in California. For example, growers may receive


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California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance Certification based on the assessment of their

sustainable practices in wine production (CSWA, n.d.). Wine grape cultivation requires

significant amounts of hand labor for pruning and harvesting, to the tune of 100 hours per acre,

which is furnished by both year-round and seasonal workers and migrants (UCD, 2000).

After the grapes are harvested at the perfect time, based on testing sugar levels, they are

crushed and put into a tank with yeast. Fermentation begins, and the cap of skins is pushed down

over the fermenting liquid. When the fermentation is complete, wine is pressed off the skins, put

in a barrel to age, racked, filtered, and bottled. Depending on the winery, this process can range

from a highly mechanized one with the use of multiple pieces of equipment (i.e., sorting lines,

temperature controlled tanks, and state of the art laboratory analysis) to one dependent on

primarily hand labor (McNeil, 2001). After it’s bottled, the distribution and marketing of the

wine begins. Currently, “premium” wine (over $7 per bottle) accounts for 43% of the value of

wine sold in the United States (Sumner, Bombrun, Alston, & Heien, 2001).

Conclusion

The overall food value chain for wine (Fig. 5) includes planting, cultivation, fertilization,

crop protection, weed management, harvest, vinification, bottling, transportation, and use. The

making of wine is highly complex, with unique cultural and social benefits, agricultural and

sustainability issues, and farm labor concerns. Yet it is a valuable agricultural product for the

state of California, employing thousands of people and generating millions of dollars for the

economy. A healthy profit along the value chain, and a growing interest in sustainable and fair

wine production techniques makes this industry ripe for possibility.


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Figure 5. Wine Production Life Cycle. (eVineyard, n.d.)


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References

Baron, E., Almond, E., and Krieger, L. M. (2017, October 14). Wildfires continue to spread, destroy

homes; death toll reaches 40. The Mercury News. Retrieved from:

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/14/officials-issue-new-evacuation-orders-crews-respond-

to-new-lake-county-fire/.

Borrell, B. (2009, August 20). The Origin of Wine. Scientific American. Retrieved from:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-origin-of-wine/.

California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. (n.d.) Retrieved from:

http://www.sustainablewinegrowing.org/certified-sustainable-winegrowing.php.

eVineyard. (n.d.). Impact of wine production life cycle on the environment. Retreived from:

https://www.evineyardapp.com/blog/2016/10/25/impact-the-wine-production-life-cycle-on-the-

environment/.

McNeil, K. (2001). The Wine Bible. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Company.

Mohan, G. (2017, October 14). How will the California fires impact wine? Los Angles Times. Retrieved

from: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wine-damage-20171014-htmlstory.html.

Munsie, J. A. (2002, March). A Brief History of the International Regulation of Wine Production.

LEDA at Harvard Law School. Retrieved from:

https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/8944668/Munsie.html?sequence=2.

Palmer, S. (2017, September 28). Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes, Yountville, California.

Palmer, S. (2017, September 28). Drinking Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamble Family Vineyards, Napa

Valley, California.


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Sumner, D. A., Bombrun, H., Alston, J. M., & Heien, D. (2001, December 2). An Economic Survey of

the Wine and Winegrape Industry in the United States and Canada. University of California

Davis. Retrieved from: http://aic.ucdavis.edu/research1/Winegrape.pdf.

Taber, G. M. (2006, November 21). Judgment of Paris. New York: Scribner.

University of California, Davis. (2000, October). Napa: Wine, Vineyards, Housing. Rural Migration

News. Retrieved from: https://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=468.

Wine Institute. (2016). The Economic Impact of the California Wine and Winegrape Industry. Retrieved

from:

http://www.wineinstitute.org/files/Wine%20Institute%20Economic%20Impact%20Highlights%2

02016.pdf.

Wine Institute of California. (2012, January) The History of California Wine. Retrieved from:

http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com/wp-content/files_mf/ecawinehistory.pdf.

Wine Spectator. (n.d.). California Wine Appellations. Retrieved from:

http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/42427.

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