Vibes more positive, not yet the hard facts and figures
An unseasonably warm start to spring in California has accelerated vine development in the growing areas to a marked extent: This month’s report relays the latest news from the vineyards – and how it may, or may not, affect the bulk wine and grape markets – and delves deep into the California Department of Food & Agriculture’s Preliminary Grape Crush Report for 2025, published last month.
The state’s smallest winegrape harvest in 26 years, combined with some improved mood music regarding case-good sales – if lacking hard figures to support it – has helped create a feeling that the wine industry is headed in the right direction. Before the sunlit uplands are reached, however, more painful rightsizing must occur, and we continue to see vineyards removed and mothballed, crush and storage capacity taken offline, and companies shrinking, merging, or shuttering altogether.
In the shorter term, it remains highly challenging to ascertain what the bulk wine and grape markets will do in the next 6-12 months. Given this, the hesitancy that has characterized buying behavior over the past three years remains rife. All purchase decisions are made deliberatively, with finances very much at the forefront of consideration. Even if they represent a significant, time-sensitive opportunity, and passing them up means paying more later on, wine and grape volumes are not getting harnessed when doing so cannot be squared with financial constraints. A credit crunch and cashflow shortage means a general disinclination to get involved on the market, and delays to payments on those deals that do occur.
In the meantime, the bulk inventory listed with us continues to build: This month’s report provides the latest on its size and content – with a focus on Cabernet, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel – and relays the bulk wine and grape activity that has been occurring. The report also carries updated SipSource data on US wholesaler depletions – the Middle East conflict is just the latest exterior factor the wine industry could do without as it strives to revive sales – and welcomes the American College of Cardiology’s recent reminder that moderate wine consumption can provide health benefits, for a long time a widespread and uncontroversial view until it became, in our words, “buried under increasingly shrill health messaging” in recent years.
Read the full Ciatti California Report for April
Bulk wine suppliers are invited to list their 2025 wines with us and send in samples, and ensure they have their 2024 wines on our inventory list, so we are able to harness buyer interest as it arises.
Grape growers are recommended to inform us of the grapes they may have available next year, in 2026, so we can work to match-up suppliers with buyers.
Please contact Mark (+1 415 630 2548 / mark@ciatti.com), Michael (+1 415 630 2541 / michael@ciatti.com) or the Ciatti Customer Account Team (cargroup@ciatti.com).