The 2017 California Grape Harvest

For the data nerds this is the statewide crush report for all grapes. Remember that the coastal premium grape region is dwarfed by the production from the Central Valley of the state. Numbers are collected by the Dept. of Agriculture.

Click on a chart to enlarge it for readability

From 2016 to 2017 the total tonnage of red grapes was down slightly while white wine grapes were up a bit.

Comparing 2016 to 2017 the average cost of red wine grapes is up and white wine grapes down slightly. There are huge differences in the cost per ton of grapes depending on the location and the variety. In the southern San Joaquin Valley (where one-third of the state's grapes come from) the average price paid for a ton of wine grapes in 2017 was $305. In Napa it was $5205, up 11% from last year.

Statewide in 2017 14.5% of the harvest was Chardonnay grapes, 14.2% was Cabernet Sauvignon, with the average prices up by 4% and 5% respectively from the 2016 harvest. The average price for Zinfandel grapes was down 2.4% (most Zin comes from the Central Valley).