Post Harvest Market Update

By Steve Fredricks 

The market for bulk wine and grapes was in excess after the large 2018 and 2019 harvests. That market condition was effectively corrected by a reduction in supply from smaller crop sizes in 2020, 2021, and 2022 as opposed to an increase in consumer sales. 

The 2023 harvest is finally over with the last grapes harvested in early December. While specific 2023 tons crushed numbers won’t be available until the Crush Report is released in early February, we do have substantial market data from transactions we facilitated and from current bulk wine supply and demand trends. Regardless of the final tons crushed numbers, market dynamics indicate that overall yields per acre on the tons harvested and delivered were generally more than what wineries were planning for or wanted. The larger crop this year combined with the reduction of consumer demand caused by inflationary pressure, demographic changes, reduced consumption, competition, and global anti-alcohol efforts became more evident and effectively pushed the market back to excess as described in the Turrentine Wine Business Wheel. 

Buyers and sellers are now more aligned in their understanding that the market is in excess, which helps move the market forward. The market is not just waking up to this excess or the challenges to consumer sales, though—work has been going on for some time to adapt to it. Wineries have been trying to expand the market for wine by developing and innovating new targeted products such as lower alcohol wines, no alcohol wines, organic wines, sustainable wines, new labels, and new packaging while negociants have recently tried to create new and inexpensive brands. Some growers in the southern hemisphere are choosing to not farm acres in 2024 to reduced supply, and in the northern hemisphere, many growers and wineries have begun to remove acres. There is still a long way to go in this excess market, but to repeat, we are not starting from the beginning. The wine industry has faced many cycles and many challenges that seemed insurmountable, but it is resilient. 

The following market update is a harvest recap by region from our grape brokers followed by an update on the early trends in the bulk wine market from the bulk wine brokers as we look toward 2024

Read the full market update

Bulk Wine Grape Market