The Central Valley grows 70% of California wine grapes, and California grows 80% of US grapes. This region alone counting for over half of US wine production (56%)! The area has a reputation for low quality wine, which doesn't seem too surprising given the mismatch between what's planted and what the climate is. The three varieties that come out as quality are Zinfandel, Petite Syrah, and Barbera – ALL warm southern varieties.
Looking at what's grown, it appears that some group of 'experts' made a bunch of horrible decisions decades ago to fill the region with a bunch of cool climate northern French varieties, because that was what consumers recognized. It's the same stuff as grown on the coast, except the coast is obviously going to do cool better.
Looking at Wine Folly's grape list https://winefolly.com/grapes/, there's TONs of Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Greek white and red varieties. Why the heck aren't these planted in the Central Valley? Where's the Xinomavro, Savatiano, Nero d’Avola, Moschofilero? That's the type of stuff that should grow well.
People gripe about CA wine being either cheap crap or too expensive. I don't think the Coast is going to get cheaper, but I think there should be huge potential for the cheap crap to get good. The old world figured out what grew where and optimized. Seems like the US is still very much in trial and error phase.
by Tiny-Pomegranate7662
9 Comments
You know who buys grapes from central valley? Barefoot. You think their customers give a shit about terroir or climate? They just want a bottle of something alcoholic that says “Pinot Grigio” on the label.
The reality is everything is going to have to get cheaper as the market is soaked (pun intended) with overproduction. As for the varietals, I agree.
Gallo (based in Modesto) is all about $$$. Since the 1980s it’s been about the fighting varietals after the White Zin & jug wine craze. Wine is large-scale agribusiness in California, not just boutique wineries that issue hundred-case lots. Cab & merlot were planted because they sell. And keep in mind those minor varietals you mentioned rarely come labeled as such, they’re blended to make a wine from a particular region: a Rioja, a Taurasi, a Bandol. And yeah back in the bad old days the American wine industry did in fact blend & borrow place names for their wine labeling.
These are workhorse varieties that, as a professional viticulturist for 30 years, are perfectly suited to the needs of the boxed and jug wine productions that keep the bottom shelves of US supermarkets and liquor stores stocked with affordable, well made and fruity wine.
The varieties you mention wouldn’t produce enough tonnage and flavor, comparatively.
This shift is already happening. A lot of acreage was already under shift to hotter climate tolerant varieties in the central valley for a while.
I tried to buy Marselan from Sunridge a few years ago and they told me they couldn’t. I asked if they had planted a scale up block yet and they had—they were sold out. And I don’t know anybody on the North Coast that’s planted it.
A lot of this is the fallout from the gold rush days. Lots of immigrants planted all kinds of stuff. Up until philoxera the largest wine growing region was around Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley. When I was a kid(the 70s) you could see the remains of these abandoned along I15. Also Gallo was a big buyer for many years of this stuff. Gallo produces 3% of the WORLD supply of wine. You thing Barefoot is mediocre , Gallo made thunderbird.
> “because that was what consumers recognized.”
you answered your own question. People will buy what they recognize and can pronounce, it’s why Riesling and Chardonnay are preferred by a normal consumer over say Gewurztraminer.
The market balance will be driven by vineyard removal- just as raisin varieties are removed to manage pricing, or any other crop for that matter.
This explains why Sacramento and the gold country are known for Zin and Barbera. It’s not that their terroir’s any better; they’re just growing the right grapes in the right place!