Good Advice for the Grape Industry From Long Ago
September 29, 2020 “At a time when the industry has hundreds of thousands of tons of grapes that can find no market at any respectable price, it seems almost ridiculous to talk about new plantings.”
That statement sounds like it could have been made by any number of industry experts at this past February’s annual State of the Industry presentation at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, CA. (Remember when we used to meet in person to discuss industry issues? Sometimes it seems like it’s been not months but years.)
But that was actually the lead sentence on an editorial published way back in 1947. It appeared in The Grape Grower, which a few years later evolved into Western Fruit Grower, which was later purchased by our parent company, Meister Media Worldwide. I’ve been cleaning my office this week and realized I’d never really taken a look at that magazine, which was then in its very first year of publication.
Imagine my surprise upon seeing this editorial, “New Grape Plantings,” which was unsigned, though the Editor at that time was Walter S. Richert. I couldn’t help immediately think of the message Allied Grape Growers President Jeff Bitter imparted to growers at the symposium this year.
Bitter had been careful in recent years to refrain from telling growers they flatly should not plant in the face of stagnant demand. In fact, he noted, as recently as last year, that the answer to the question, “Are you saying I shouldn’t replant grapes?” was “Not necessarily,” though growers were advised to dig up non-performing vineyards. But that sure changed this year, as Bitter went so far as to create an emoji of himself to get this simple message across: “Pull Out Some Vines.”
Allied Grape Growers President Jeff Bitter said his three teenage daughters helped him create this emoji of him, just in time to spread the message at the State of the Industry presentation.
The advice shocked some of the growers in the audience that day, as it seemed so abrupt. However, history goes in cycles, as the 73-year-old editorial demonstrates. The second line of the piece reads: “But in spite of desperate conditions within the industry, it is still necessary to keep an eye on the future as a guarantee that these conditions will not be perpetuated.”
Aside from the fact there are no guarantees in life, the advice to keep an eye on the future is sound. The author goes on to state something that wouldn’t come as a surprise if it came from someone in the industry today. “Some vineyards unquestionably will be found unprofitable and will have to be abandoned or removed. Additional vineyards can be made profitable if they can be improved.”
Indeed, Bitter specifically cited vines for priority removal: virused vines, generic reds, labor-dependent vineyards, and yield-challenged vines. The editorial states: “Some low-bearing areas can be made profitable if they can produce the rare fine-wine varieties that are so badly needed. Some old vineyards might be improved by replanting with better varieties or higher producers.”
This is not to suggest the answers to all of your problems can be found by leafing through old magazines. It’s that when it comes to planting decisions, it’s always best to keep circumstances in their proper perspective, and above all, take the long view. The editorial concludes with some reasonable advice — though growers considering new plantings should proceed with extreme caution.
“Grape production is now out of balance. Now is no time to plant any variety on speculation. But at the same time, all thought of new plantings must not be arbitrarily discarded. Now, actually, is the time to revise this unbalanced condition with an intelligent vine removal and vine planting program.”
Subscribe Today For
