Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/51841
off the shelf; however, I would still not plant moscato on speculation, without a contract. We are seeing more planting contracts in the San Joaquin Valley for grapes for both red and white generic wines such as rubired, bar- bera, French colombard, chenin blanc and white zinfandel. V&WM: Recently completed field trials in the San Joaquin Valley showed that petit verdot, malbec, tannat and petite sirah can produce good-quality red wine. Are growers increasing acreage of these for vari- etal production? ND: Petite sirah is being planted for varietal wine production in the San Joaquin Valley under contract. We're starting to see some plant- ing of petit verdot on a limited com- mercial scale. But I haven't seen the big wineries come out and offer contracts for planting significant acreage for these "newer" variet- ies. Jim Wolpert and his UC Davis researchers have done some great work in evaluating many different varieties, but I don't think we want to proceed down the same road we went with syrah a few years ago, which resulted in excess pro- duction in relation to consumer demand. I think the jury's still out on the lesser-known varieties until the wineries step up and offer more contracts to plant them. V&WM: What are the effects of current land prices, the real estate market, bank lending and other eco- nomic factors on vineyard sales, land acquisition and new vineyard planting and investment? ND: Current ag land prices are sky high, and a lot of investors are looking for land throughout Califor- nia. There are very few vineyards available for sale, and there are more buyers than sellers. In terms of bank lending, there is more pres- sure from institutions for due dili- gence. They want to see copies of grape-buying contracts. They are still funding ag investments, but they don't want to get burned. The banks are doing more smart lending in the current economy. The cost of getting into a North Coast vineyard is high, and people that do are buying into the lifestyle, because it's usually not done based just on the potential return on investment for grape production. Allied has a formula that considers the cost factors and enables grow- ers to figure the cost of production and potential income in order to calculate the return on investment. They need the right combination of productivity in terms of yields and the right price per ton. The smart growers in the Central Valley are SOME OF THE WORLD'S BEST WINES ARE MADE IN CONCRETE NEW 2,200 GALLON TANKS THIS SEASON! TANKSINCONCRETE.COM (888) 807-4575 Look For Us At The Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, Sacramento Convention Center, Jan 25Th And 26Th 2012 WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM JAN - FEB 2012 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT 91