Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/369547
1 4 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | S e p t - O c t 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m McCarthy noted, however, that this has more to do with competi- tion from the bourbon industry and other issues than large harvests in California. Christopher Hansen, general manager at Sequin Moreau, said last year's short harvest in France helped keep supply in balance. "It allowed them to produce more barrels for the USA and ship fairly quickly," he said. Hansen noted, however, that the demand for 2014 is less clear. "Orders are variable at times with some wineries up, many even, and some slightly down. Some winer- ies have said they have a lot of wine from the previous harvests and might be cutting back a bit." Jason Stout, international sales director at Cooperages 1912 in Napa, also said he is not expect- ing demand to be as strong as in recent years. "There's a lot of wine in tank and a lot of wine in the cel- lar," he said. "I don't think people are going to be taking as big of a position on their ultra-premium portfolio. Sure, they are going to be making enough to keep sales full and to follow the market, but are they going to make an extra 20% just because they have it? I'm not too sure about that." Wineries, meanwhile, have had to get creative in managing the increased volume. "Between the 2012 and 2013 harvests, we found ourselves nearly out of tank capac- ity and heavily reliant on more than a dozen custom-crush partners," said Duckhorn Vineyards CEO Alex Ryan. "This scenario was unsus- tainable." The company subse- quently purchased a large facility in Hopland, Calif., to help alleviate the pressure. "We're knee-deep in the process of getting it up and running for what looks to be yet another substantial harvest," he said. Erik Olsen, vice president and chief winemaker at Constellation Brands, said dealing with the large harvests can be a challenge. "It requires a great deal of planning and balancing of grape purchases, bulk wine management, and fin- ished goods inventory manage- ment," he said. Olsen, based in Sonoma County,