2012 vintage expectations

[Allen S]

I know its early, but are there any thoughts on the quality of the 2012 vintage? I know the California winemakers are excited about it - what about Israel?

[Craig Winchell]

I don't know that CA winemakers are excited about the quality. The quantity enviable, and the quality was decent. In some places, as always, better than decent. After a couple of hard, low yield years, the quantities were a welcome change, as people had expected shortages which never really showed up.

[Allen S]

Thanks for the response. At KFWE NY I got the impression from Joe Hurliman and Jonothan Hajdu that the 2012 vintage would be great quality, but I guess that is not the consensus.

[David Raccah]

Overall - the thinking is that 2012 will be a good year for CA, in both yield and quantity, though I would never argue with Craig on such subjects.

David

[Craig Winchell]

If you listen to the winemakers, every year is a vintage of the century. Who among winery people is going to prejudice people against a vintage, especially one which will be long in terms of quantity? The quality is certainly acceptable. It was an early vintage over much of California, and that means short hang times and ripening under hotter conditions than the previous couple of years. On the other hand, that means no problems getting fruit ripe, certainly a problem in 2011 in cooler areas.

[Craig Winchell]

http://www.wineindustryinsight.com/ex_n ... icing.html

Preliminary grape crush report came out today. Up 45% or more from last year's crush. Plus, prices were up, because everyone was scrambling to build up inventory. There was no mention of quality. This article is a condensation from the grape crush report, as well as what the European Central Bank says about things.