California wine grape harvest was lighter and most of the grapes have been picking at lower sugar levels, giving winemakers the opportunity to make more elegant and balanced wines

Sebastopol, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/10/2012 -- The 2011 California wine grape harvest was lighter and most of the grapes have been picking at lower sugar levels, giving winemakers the opportunity to make more elegant and balanced wines. According to California office of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service the 2011 grape crush have totaled 3,874,146 tons, 3 percent down from the 2010 crush of 3,986,314 tons. Red wine varieties crush totaled for 1,920,036 tons, down 6 percent from 2010. The 2011 white wine variety accounted for 426,905 tons, down 7 percent from 2010. Raisin type varieties totaled 372,551, up 36 percent from 2010, and tons crushed of table type varieties totaled 154,653, up 25 percent from 2010.

At the same time California's grape-growers are finally happy about the fact that the grape prices are raising. After three years of slower wine sales and an oversupply of bottled and bulk wines, wineries have finally cleared their inventories of older vintages and now there are looking to buy more grapes this year. That demand is pushing the grape and bulk wine prices up which make this market a very hot niche. There are few website like WineBusiness and VinoEnology.com where vintners and grape-growers can trade. So if you're looking to buy bulk wine you will be find out that the prices are way up and that could be hurting factor for a number of small winery and negociants, which have using the bulk wine market to feed their brands. Most of the largest U.S. wine producers have signed long-term contracts with grape growers to secure their access to fruit and this gives them an option to better manage their wine price strategy. Overall, the grapes and bulk wine prices remain strong, and buyers and sellers should be very active.

Similar cases of grape shortages are reported elsewhere, according to The Drinks Business website France's Languedoc saw grape prices rise to a 10-year high and Spain's Rioja saw its 2011 grape yields drop to more than 20 percent, resulting in "a serious depletion of stocks matched by price rises."

If this grape and bulk wine shortage continuing in the next few years, wineries may have to raise their wine prices, but they need to be very carefully so they don't scare the consumers away and damage their brands. At the same time U.S. economy is start to recover and more Americans are increasingly interested in a lifestyle with food and wine, but most of those consumers are still looking to get discount deal of quality wines, which are offered by many wine flash sites like Wine.Woot, Lot18, GiltTaste and few others. The flash sites are product of the recession and a consolidation of distributors that has made it hard for wineries to get their wines into stores, but at the same time they have brought new customers into the space, and make them more comfortable in buying wine online.

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Sebastopol, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/03/2012 -- China growing economy is helping to drive demand for U.S. business, offering a new market for wines, spirits and other goods. With U.S. wine exports reaching record levels last year, businesses should try to sell more aggressively their wines, spirits and other agricultural products into China's market.

According to the California Wine Institute United States wine exports has strike another record in 2011. By volume, 90% of the exports are from California, where the wine sales achieved a new record of $1.39 million in winery earnings in the past year and increase of almost 22 percent compared to 2010. The amount of the wine shipments was up almost six percent to 455.7 million liters or 50.6 million (12x750ml) cases. Nearly 1/3 of the U.S. wine exports are shipped to the EU countries, accounting for $478 million of the revenues, up 10% from 2010. The other top wine markets were: Canada up 23 percent to the amount of $379 million; Hong Kong up 39 percent to the value of $163 million; Japan up 39 percent to $105 million and China up 42 percent to $62 million.

In general United States exports to China last year have reached more than $100 billion, which mean that business will create more manufacturing jobs and bring the U.S. industry and economy back into the growing track. So what's next? The local agricultural business will be looking to capitalize on that trading opportunity, which will make more goods, agro products and farmhouse cheeses to get exported with these great US wines.

According to Winejobs website, which is run by the trade publication Wine Business, they have see increase of the job postings in the last few months, and expects to see roughly 15 to 20 percent more openings in the wine industry, overall this year than the past 2011.

If you are thinking to get into the wine industry and start a new career, erase the dream of sitting with a glass of your favorite wine overlooking a vineyard and working flexible hours. The wine industry is competitive niche just like any other business and to find a job is not an easy task. The wine business offers many options for those looking for wine job to follow their dream. Many wine jobs will require special education and previous industry experience as well. However, if you decide to take this long journey, a wine career can be a fulfilling and grateful opportunity for the right person.

To keep track what is happening in the wine business and how get a jobs in the wine industry, just go to VinoEnology.com

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