Pinot Noir over planting will it

[Don Giovanni]

Pinot Noir over planting will it lead to a glut in 5 years ?

In the 1990's it was Merlot a panic to plant and just in CA the acreage is now over 51,000 acres of fruit bearing vines...and a lake of wine...

So then I look at Chardonnay in CA and the love affaire over 92,000 acres of fruit bearing vines.....and a lake of wine...

Next Riesling in CA 1935 acres of fruit bearing planted vines and only 685 not bearing fruit....yet we imported over 57,000 cases of this wine just from the land down under...what is troublesome is that the cooler regions for Riesling are going to Pinot planting..this I question?

Last Pinot Noir over 24,188 acres of fruit bearing vines and 3,330 soon to come on line...

So Pinot Noir are you going to be the next lake of wine with all the new vines coming on line and being planted ?

Should based on demand Riesling be planted ....the stats say yes... the hype of a movie like Sideways = a fad that might fade away as did the Chard and Merlot.. madness.....

I am using CA information for the above as a Macrocosm of the US wine world...

Your thoughts?

Stats are from USDA report 2006

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[dinwiddie]

Pinot Noir over planting will it lead to a glut in 5 years ?

In the 1990's it was Merlot a panic to plant and  just in CA the acreage is now over 51,000 acres of fruit bearing vines...and a lake of wine...

So then I look at Chardonnay in CA and the love affaire over 92,000 acres of fruit bearing vines.....and a lake of wine...

Next Riesling in CA 1935 acres of fruit bearing planted vines and only 685 not bearing fruit....yet we imported over 57,000 cases of this wine just from the land down under...what is troublesome is that the cooler regions for Riesling are going to Pinot planting..this I question?

Last Pinot Noir over 24,188 acres of fruit bearing vines and 3,330 soon to come on line...

So Pinot Noir are you going to be the next lake of wine with all the new vines coming on line and being planted ? 

Should based on demand Riesling be planted ....the stats say yes...  the hype of a movie like Sideways = a fad that might fade away as did the Chard and Merlot.. madness.....

I am using CA information for the above as a Macrocosm of the US wine world...

Your thoughts?

Stats are from USDA report 2006

Click On Me

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Maybe, maybe not. The problem with the overplanting of Merlot was that so many growers went for the most fruit per acre that they could and there was not just a glut of Merlot, but a glut of bad Merlot. With the growing popularity of Pinot Noir, it may be that growers will do it properly and limit yields to make good PNs. One can hope. As it is, the new lions of Pinot Noir producers are finding that they have to expand their production because of the high demand. When folks like Kosta Browne almost double their production, and still have a waiting list for allocations that is over 7000 long, you know there is a demand for good Pinot Noir.

So, what I am saying is, if the Pinot Noir that is coming into production is tended properly, and cut back to limit yields instead of trying to get as much tonnage per acre as possible, it may not be a problem. There is a lot of pent up demand for high quality Pinot Noir, and the increased acrage may be a godsend for those of us who love PNs and did not want the demand to drive up the already high prices for the better ones.

[Rebel Rose]

Hard to say. Vineyard plantings do follow fashion--it's surprising how many new vineyard owners don't do any serious market research. They jump into the business with stars in their eyes and just plant whatever is trendy at the moment.

According to this article:

Bill Turrentine and Brian Clements of Turrentine Brokerage disclosed that only 4 percent of Napa's Cabernet acreage is not bearing, by far the lowest in a decade. "Shortages are imminent," said Clements.

Surprisingly, and in spite of the constant complaints by critics about over-oaked Napa Chardonnay, there's none available on the bulk market.

Needless to say, Pinot Noir is even worse. "As soon as we get a sample, we sell it," Clements states.

I had lunch with Matt Turrentine recently, and he also related that they can't keep pinot noir in stock. He said that wineries that don't normally produce pinot want to add it to their portfolio to catch some of its current popularity in the market. One thing to consider, however, is how this wine ends up in the hands of bulk brokers. If vineyard owners can't find a buyer for their fruit, they sell it to a broker, who vinifies it and stores it in tanks for resale. If a winery considers a lot of wine to be sub-par, they will sell it to a broker to recover at least a part of their grape and processing costs. So much of the pinot noir being resold is poor to average quality.

I think with the growing US market for wine, the Sideways effect, and the growth of the millenium market, that there is no glut of pinot noir on the horizon. I would still caution anyone considering planting a vineyard, however, not to plant pinot unless they have the right site, are willing to work with a notoriously difficult grape, and are going to be committed to top quality.

[Don Giovanni]

Mary,

Every decade has had it's romance with a fad wine....today PN.....what I think will happen is that some new people will try plonkish wine and be turned off to it. First impressions are very lasting...last based on Riesling imports and the shortage of the fruit due to real demand not movie hype demand....is growing double digit G-D help us if they make a movie with Riesling in it... and this is a problem....the cooler sites in CA should be planting Riesling.....trust me a PN lake will form....yet the good producers will always be in demand....