Overview

Viticulture was originally brought to California by Spanish Franciscan friars, who began cultivating grapes at California missions in 1769 to produce sacramental wines. However, it was not until the 1800s that the production of fresh grapes became popular. The first fresh grape vineyard was planted on land just outside of present-day Los Angeles in 1839 (California Table Grape Commission).

During 2008, 7.3 million tons of grapes, valued at $3.4 billion, were grown commercially in the United States. California accounted for 6.7 million tons, or 90 percent, of these grapes. Other top grape-growing states included Washington (5%), New York (3%), Pennsylvania (1%) and Michigan (1%).  (NASS 2009)

Compared to other grape uses, the fresh grape industry accounts for a small portion of the total grapes grown. In 2008 only 978,000 tons of fresh grapes, or 13 percent of all grapes, were produced. The largest producer was California, with 969,000 tons of fresh grapes. However, fresh grapes accounted for only 12 percent, or $366.7 million, of the total value of the state's 2008 grape production.  (NASS 2009)  May 2009 ... Grapes

Marketing

• Agricultural Baseline Projections, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA, 2009 - The Baseline Briefing Room provides long-run (10-year) baseline projections for the agricultural sector. Projections cover agricultural commodities, agricultural trade and aggregate indicators of the sector, such as farm income and food prices.
• American Society for Enology & Viticulture - A scientific organization for the wine and grape industry.
• American Vineyard Foundation, Napa, California.
• China Agricultural Data, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, 2001 - Information on production, cost of production and trade.
• Current Economic Trends in the California Wine Industry; Rachael E. Goodhue, Richard D. Green, Dale M. Heien and Philip L. Martin; Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics; University of California, ARE Update, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2008 - The number of wine grape growers is growing slowly but the number of wineries has doubled in the past decade.
• Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System, ERS, USDA.
• Fresh Deciduous Fruit (Apples, Pears, & Grapes), Foreign Ag Service (FAS), USDA, 2009.
• Fresh-Market Grapes, ERS, USDA, 2007.
• Fresh Table Grapes: World Markets & Trade, FAS, USDA, 2008.
• Fruit and Tree Nuts Situation and Outlook Yearbook 2008, ERS, USDA.
• Fruits and Tree Nuts, ERS, USDA.
• Market Opportunities for Ohio Grape Production, Center for Innovative Food Technology, Toledo, Ohio, 2006 - This article identifies products that grape growers can consider providing, including grape seed oil/extract, vinegar, juice and grappa (distilled spirits).
• Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA.
• U.S. Trade Internet System, FASonline, USDA.

Processing/Manufacturing

• Department of Viticulture, University of California-Davis - Information on grape production and enology
• Viticulture, Iowa State University Cooperative Extension - Production guides, budgets and supplies.

Production

• Crop Profile for Grapes in Tennessee, 2008.
• Current Cost and Return Studies, University of California Extension Service - Collection of cost/return analysis studies for a variety of production scenarios.
• Grape, Integrated Pest Management guidelines, University of California, Davis.
• Grapes: Organic Production, ATTRA, National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), 2006 - This guide presents organic management options for diseases, insects and weeds, discusses cultivar choices in terms of disease resistance and briefly presents marketing ideas for eastern labrusca-type grapes and organic wines.
• PlantFacts, Ohio State University - This Web site provides a full-text search engine of all extension and academic department information from all land-grant universities in the United States. Additionally, there are significant image and video databases, a FAQ database and a glossary.
• Northwest Berry and Grape Information Network, Oregon State University - Cultural information, research, and market and trade information for grapes.
• Recent Trends in the California Wine Grape Industry; Richard Volpe, Richard Green, Dale Heien and Richard Howitt; Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics; University of California, ARE Update, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2008 - Over the last 30 years, the wine grape industry has expanded rapidly in acreage and production. As shown in this paper, growth has been driven by changes in consumer demand and has not been uniform across grape varieties or in the major growing regions.
• Viticulture & Enology Research Center, California State University, Fresno.
  

Businesses/Case Studies

• Ahead of the Curve, Rodale Institute, 2005 - Phil Coturri has been growing organic wine grapes in Sonoma for 25 years, and 10 years ago helped set the trend for organic olive oil production in California.
• F. Teldeschi Winery, Healdsburg, California, 2008 - This winery, located in Sonoma County's wine country, is a family-owned business that sells 95 percent of its grapes to local wineries in the area with the remaining grapes used to produce small quantities of their high-quality wine sold throughout the world.
• Grapes, The New American Farmer, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), USDA - Describes an operation located in Washington.
• Lodi Winegrape Commission, Lodi, California, 2008 - Funded in 1991, the Commission serves to raise awareness of the Lodi - Woodbridge winegrape production region among the wine trade, the press and consumers and to provide growers with information, materials, education and strategies directed at profit improvement.
• Leaning Oaks Vineyard, Spring Branch, Texas - This vineyard yields several grape varietals: cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese and zinfandel, all red grapes, and chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, both white grapes. But rather than turning it around to be bottled and sold, Fasano processes the wine into sauces and jellies, cooking out the alcohol while preserving its aroma and taste profile.
• National Grape Cooperative Association, Ag Marketing Resource Center, 2003 - Jack Kaplan, an entrepreneur, purchased a small grape processing facility in 1933 from some investment bankers in Brocton, New York, and called his new company National Grape Corporation.
• Northern Vineyard Winery, Ag Marketing Resource Center, 2002.
• Northern Vineyards Winery, New Generation Cooperatives: Case Study, Illinois, Council on Food and Agricultural Research and the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs.
• Welch Foods, Inc., Ag Marketing Resource Center, 2003 - Welch Foods, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Grape Cooperative Association, Inc. (National Grape).
   

Links checked May 2009.