Interesting article posted today. As Grape Postings Surge, Prices Plummet
6 Likes
And Iâll add this:
âGrowers are slashing grape prices, no one is Buying.â
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/link/292877
1 Like
So knowing this was going to be happening, wondering why dN prices have continued to rise.
7 Likes
price drop should be coming otherwise Iâm OUT
5 Likes
Increased margins on steady supply = more $. Not a bad position for a business. I see most futures lots selling out or getting limited showing in bottle shop. Good math by new owners.
Cheers, Tim
2 Likes
Iâve been a lurker on this thread since the beginning of time, and a major buyer of DN offerings from the era when CH was running the show, very little since he left. I am well stocked with reds of all types, but Iâm down to almost nothing in whites and roses. Is there anyone out there in the San Francisco Bay Area who would like to do some trading, your whites and roses for my reds? If so, please send me a PM and we can wheel and deal. Thanks.
1 Like
Wine Spies just offered the 2019 RC Howell Mtn cab for $79 and it sold out in less than 20 minutes. Thatâs out of my budget so pretty happy I paid $27.50 for both the '17 and '18.
9 Likes
Interesting, thanks @VitorC ! Fruit for sale is a lot different than wine for sale, and Iâd expect much unsold fruit goes unpicked. Good for the birds of California.
In Washington, similar trends, mostly due to Chateau Ste Michelle cutting contracts drastically last year, 2023. I belong to the wine grape growers association here, and they have been advertising sales to BC wineries as an option and offering assistance on navigating any customs issues to sell into Canada. Okanagan has had freeze impacts last couple of years, so their current crop is below ânormalâ. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.
5 Likes
And Lot 504 is another RC coming down the pike.
3 Likes
Yeah, Lot 468, the RC âShinerâ that I got was very good. Thought it was a little pricey at the time, but The 'Spies offering made me chuckle.
3 Likes
Hmmmm.
Got my flu shot today & my doctor(a former client) who has been a winegrower for over 30 years here in Paso Robles, additionally his beautiful sculptured winery is roughly 15 years young/old(?).
It has always seemed to me that itâs an unwritten industry rule to âAlways spin your winery in a positive wayâ? WellâŚ
Today he said:
âThe wine business is horrible.â
Itâs a rare moment.
Happy Friday! 
6 Likes
I do wonder if we will reach a point where even some good wineries will start âhalf assingâ some of their wine making. Why do 18 months in the barrel when you can do 12 why at night when you can pick during the day why hand sort when you are going to have to bulk out the majority of it anyway⌠The 2017 and 2018 Robert Craig shiners speak towards the fact that they truly felt like they were going to be able to sell their wine under their own label. They would not have half assed It because in 2017 through 21 they felt like they had a good chance to unload their bottles for near retail. The new reality seems to be that they wonât even be able to sell their Best stuff, much less a little extra that they can hope to sell at their near retail price⌠I would suspect that the first 300 lots of dN were likely made by the winery with the intent of having them be first quality. They may have bulked out their wine if it didnât turn out quite as intended or sold off their inferior barrels⌠But they still likely went into the process with the philosophy of â Letâs make as much amazing wine as we can Because thereâs a good chance, we can sell the majority of itâ.
All that to say, I am wondering if the NDA Market will benefit from the horriinle stateOf things or if there will Be less high quart wine made
3 Likes
Luke,
I have been wondering the same thing.
I remember (1990âs) during a high priced grape boom when a large Grape Buyer said, âitâs much better when everyone is making money.â Heâs probably right, and, I thought he would not care for those exorbitant prices?
Those high prices did stimulate more (excessive?) grape plantings.
Since grapes grow a crop every year, a healthy industry serves us best, I believe.
The Yet, there are always âthe gales of creative destruction.â 
Whoever originally posted 504 made a good point in that based on the blend % it looked like a Martin ray wine despite the filing. Will be interesting to seeâŚ
NealW,
The âbottled byâ is registered to an LLC owned by Kiersten Bjorkman who has worked at RC since 2006. Any relationship to Martin Ray maybe business relations? But it could be âdeeperâ than thatâŚooooh
1 Like
Letâs talk about the upcoming release of Lot 504! According to the label filed with COLA, this wine is a 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon that is 54% from Napa County and 46% from Sonoma County (the label says so!).
Who else could this be other than Pride Mountain Vineyards?!?! Short of this being a dN concoction, do any other winemakers blend Cab from these two different counties?
According to the Pride website, their 2021 Cab was 52% Sonoma and 48% Napa, but their 2020 Cab was exactly 54% Napa and 46% Sonoma!
Sounds like a n.68 repeat and a worthy purchase, perhaps!
2 Likes
back up the truck
2 Likes
How much was n.68? What do you think this will come in at? My guess - quite a bit higher, no?
Cheers
1 Like
No.68 was $18/per.
50% higher? 75%?
1 Like
Based on recent releases - perhaps $29.99 ea?