California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

California’s 2007 grape crush totaled 3,665,929 tons, up 5 percent from the 2006 total
of 3,488,871 tons, according to a report by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Wine type grapes crushed were at 3,238,941 tons up 3 percent from the previous year.
Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of all grapes crushed, at 1,868,187
tons, down slightly from 2006. The 2007 white wine variety crush totaled 1,370,754 tons,
up 9 percent from 2006.

California grape growers received prices in 2007 for both red and white wine grapes that
were,on average, below the 2006 prices. The 2007 average price of all varieties was $519.93
per ton, down 5 percent from 2006.

Average prices for the 2007 crop by type were:
• Red wine grapes, $622.63, down 2 percent from 2006;
• White wine grapes, $482.10, down 4 percent from 2006;

In 2007, Chardonnay accounted for the largest percentage of the total crush volume with
16.1 percent. Cabernet Sauvignon was the second largest with 11.5 percent of the total crush.

Grapes produced in Napa County received the highest average price of $3,253.80 per ton, up
7 percent from 2006. Grapes from Sonoma and Marin counties received the second highest
return of $2,081.20, up 5 percent from 2006.

The 2007 Chardonnay price of $721.21 was down 4 percent from 2006, and the Cabernet Sauvignon
price of $981.49 was up 3 percent from 2006. The 2007 average price for Zinfandel was $464.76,
down 9 percent from 2006, and the Merlot average price was down 11 percent from 2006, at $590.19
per ton.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.