As I was looking through my weekly wine reading articles, I came across several items I want to report to you on.
2021 Grape Harvest = Napa Valley
Overall the prediction for the 2021 harvest in Napa Valley is better than the 2020 harvest.
The 2020 harvest was damaged by devastating fires and many power outages which interrupted irrigation and the harvest in general. The prediction for the 2021 harvest is much better than 2020. Cooler weather now has returned the harvest to a slower pace than at the end of August which was very warm.
The Napa Valley Wine Insider Digest reports that the quality this year is very high but yields are down throughout the valley. Some vineyards are reporting as much as a 50% decline in yields. Some report this is due to much smaller cluster sizes. They do have plenty of texture, flowers and acid.
The smaller cluster sizes are due to 2021 being a drought year with higher-than-average temperatures. It appears that all vineyards throughout the valley are expecting much lower yields. But quality appears to be good.
Higher than average temperatures around the world have made an impact on grape growing.
Turbulent Times Expected Around the Globe
Major organizations are predicting that the grape production will be about 4% lower than 2020. As I noted earlier, Napa Valley will have a greatly reduced harvest. While France may have the worst harvest in its history. It could be down as much as 25% to 30%. This is due to the early and severe spring frosts. The issue is that wine consumption is expected to increase in 2021 slightly higher than 2020. Yet it will be harder to get certain wines. It is hard to predict due to Covid-19 and other trade disputes. Perhaps you might want to stock up on your favorite wines now.
The Most Expensive Bordeaux
The news and features section of Wine-Searcher.com has just published a list of the World’s 10 most expensive French Bordeaux wines. For producers and investors, the good news is that wine prices are on the move upward.
The World’s Most Expensive Wines on Wine-Searcher (listed by Wine Name/Score/Average Price):
- Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru/98/$32,857
- Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru/97/$21,953
- Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru/98/$20,614
- Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux/93/$16,867
- Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese/97/$16,114
- Domaine Georges & Christophe Roumier Musigny Grand Cru/96/$15,619
- Domaine Leflaive Montrachet Grand Cru/95/$12,911
- Domaine Leroy Chambertin Grand Cru/98/$12,601
- Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin/97/$9,156
- Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet Grand Cru/96/$9,123
The Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru was ranked as the world’s most expensive Bordeaux.
This article reported the average increase was 8% to 10%, depending on the wine, in the past 12 months. The report indicates the big winner was Chateau Lafleur with an increase of 17.5% in its global price average.
Wine Drinking in General
In doing research for our new 530 Wine Bar wine list, I have put a lot of time into looking at what age groups drink what wines. According to research just released by IWSR, wine consumption will slide down by 0.3% in the coming four years. They reported this:
- 21 – 34 age group dropped from 28% to 18% between 2010 and 2020.
- 55 plus age group increased from 32% to 47% in the same 10-year period and typically drinks the same wines.
- Generation Z are the least frequent wine drinkers and that isn’t expected to change.
- Millennials are the most frequent and regular wine drinkers and will try new and different wines. As they age, they are also likely to purchase more expensive wines.
As always, I appreciate your support of our wine blog and encourage you to share it with family and friends. If you care to share your comments on this blog posting or other topics, please do so in the comments section below.
Until next week,
Cheers
Upcoming Wine Events For 2021
9/24/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event – BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE
10/19/21 Oktoberfest Dinner with Iechyd Da Brewing Co. with music by Patti Vreugdenhil
10/26/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
11/4/21 November Wine Dinner featuring music by Checkmark Sallie
11/19/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
