North Coast vineyards yield record $1.45 billion crop

Photo by Christopher Dung, Press Democrat

Grape production dropped 7 percent on the North Coast in 2014, though its vineyards still delivered a record $1.45 billion crop as rising prices and strong demand for top-quality cabernet sauvignon offset smaller yields, according to a new report issued Tuesday. The smaller crop had been widely expected by growers and winemakers after back-to-back record-breaking harvests in 2012 and 2013. Even so, growers in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties still picked 528,878 tons of grapes last fall — making it the third-largest harvest in more than a quarter-century, according to preliminary figures issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The smaller crop had been widely expected by growers and winemakers after back-to-back record-breaking harvests in 2012 and 2013. Even so, growers in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties still picked 528,878 tons of grapes last fall — making it the third-largest harvest in more than a quarter-century, according to preliminary figures issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

via North Coast vineyards yield record $1.45 billion crop | The Press Democrat.