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Vineyard acreage in California must be reduced due to water shortages and declining demand, demands a Silicon Valley Bank analysis of the US wine industry. Current vineyard acreage is meeting less consumer interest and straining the scarce water budget, it says. Despite small harvests in 2020 and 2021 due to large wildfires, warehouses are full and prices for grapes are low, it says. Further, the report warns, "With the increasing climatic impacts of drought, fires, low soil moisture and record low reservoir levels, the pressure on agriculture and households to share limited water will increase.".
According to the report, water supply will be the most important topic of conversation in 2022. California's reservoirs are only about 36 per cent full, he said, and too little snow has fallen in the catchments so far. Surveys showed that in wine regions such as Napa and Sonoma County, over 80 per cent of respondents were concerned about supply shortages. The report therefore concludes: "These prolonged droughts and stresses on soils, combined with low demand and the threat of renewed oversupply, suggest that vineyards in California and Washington will need to be eliminated to maintain balance, especially if volumes sold continue to decline".
(al / source: drinksbusiness; photo: wikimedia TaurausEmerald)
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