missed the minimum brix by .1%
im curious why the farmer hadn't been monitoring the brix the whole way and communicating with other potential buyers. he definitely could have gotten something for the lot instead of trashing it.
by medium-rare-steaks
In Wine Porn
13 Comments
Would this be a case of the industry downtown causing the buyer to look for any (legal) excuse to get out of the contract.
>he definitely could have gotten something for the lot
Lodi, $500 a ton, sold to a big winery which likely means gallo or constellation. He honestly couldn’t have. Theres too much supply in the market, especially in that area and at that price, that I bet many of his neighbors and he himself hung fruit this year.
People are giving fruit away for free so his alternative was realistically only dumping it and making compost.
Sad state of the market these days.
Ouch, maybe could have let them dry a tiny bit and try again?
Keep charging $50-$250 a bottle . God forbid you lower the price for the average working person
Look, I like wine. That’s why I’m on this sub. But it’s really frustrating that we dump stuff like this. Could this farm grow table grapes, raspberries, blackberries, melons, strawberries?
What waste
> “Farmers get a paycheck once a year, and we didn’t get a paycheck that day.”
> The 25 tons of grapes, worth between $10,000 and $15,000, were dumped into a nearby field to rot.
So this farmer’s entire nut for the year is $10-15k?
So here’s an honest question: why not sell grape juice? I have pretty much given up drinking alcohol entirely, but I would definitely drink the juice of legitimate wine grapes. To this day probably the best grape I ever ate out of hand was a very ripe chenin Blanc. The seed was annoying but the flesh was great.
Don’t buy wine from these criminals
It isn’t 0.1%, it is 0.1 degrees brix. What I find interesting is that the grower is getting at most $600($830 Can) for a ton. Here in BC, I have seen growers this year asking for $5000 a ton (Can $). Not that they should get that. I can’t remember when anyone was able to buy fruit here so cheap.
Something seems off here.
A grower wouldn’t pick grapes below agreed upon brix without the wine maker or other winery rep involved. The winery would tell the grapegrower when the grapes were ready.
But, the grower should know the brix before picking AND ensure it meets contractual obligations.
Thanks Obama
It depends on the grape varietal grown. The grapes to Klinker Brick would be Zinfandel, and that’s what Lodi is known for. Many farmers in the area are ripping fields of old growth Zin, and it’s pretty sad. You can’t get that history of flavor in a new grape when demand turns.
The people 40 and under are drinking 70% less than previous generations. Every industry that produces alcohol is feeling the decline in business.
Zinfandel is not as popular as Cabernet or Pinot. Those varietals in popular regions are still selling for higher prices.
I think moving forward, there will be less decent economy wine available.
I really hope the ripping of old growth vines doesn’t continue, but I can’t blame the land owner if they can’t make a living.
.1% is a ridiculous factor to cancel a contract. Test it again or maybe his grapes were just shit they didn’t want, water weight. More to this story for sure