Local grape growers face conundrum. Read this article. What do you recommend if faced with the following:Options for growers with unsold grapes are dwindling. They now likely face three choices: Sell their grapes at or below cost; let the fruit rot on the vine and save the cost of picking it; or pay a custom-crush facility to turn their crop into wine and gamble someone will buy it in the future.
Sarah Brink
8/31/2010 02:03:40 pm
I think that the economy heavily impacts the grape growers. For some of them this is how they support their families. In my opinion, the growers should sell their grapes at or below cost. The other two options are too risky and if they fail then they will be losing more money than if they go with the first option. They will at least may some profit. Although it won't be what they desire, it is still a profit rather than losing capital.
Gabriela Fernandez
9/1/2010 01:16:01 am
I wasn't aware of how severe the impacts of harvest was becoming on the grape growers. I knew that people had been losing jobs and that times were becoming tough, but I hadn't been aware that they were having to make so many decisions on whether or not they let the crops die or sell them at a lower cost. I feel that in times like these, the grape growers have to try and make as much money out of that situation as best as possible. It's better to lose a little bit selling the grapes at a lower cost, than earning nothing and letting them rot and not be picked. It's better to earn a little bit of money than nothing at all, making at least some profit.
David Martinez
9/1/2010 02:50:45 pm
In my opinion, i think that the growers should atleast try to sell the grapes they have, because it is the least risky way of making a profit. it also produces jobs for the workers so they can support their families. the other two options dont have the same potential to bring a profit to the growers.
Gustavo DeHaro
9/2/2010 09:12:31 am
I didnt know that the econimic situation had hurt the wine making bussines so badly. In my opinion I would personally sell all the grapes they have left over because they have a chance that they will make some money but lose a little bit of money to pay the workers but they will at least make some profit it willl also give families that need jobs, some money to support their families.
Mikhayla Crawford
9/2/2010 10:45:56 am
I realize that this is a very hard hit for all the vineyard owners, though they should stay optimistic. They should definitely rule out just letting the grapes sit and rot. They should at least take a chance and either pick the grapes and try to sell them, or invest in making their own wine in order to sell it later on. Taking a chance to possibly make a profit is a far better choice than not.
Nadia Harvey
9/2/2010 12:44:06 pm
Well, given the fact that the economy is in the shape it is, it would be wise to just play it safe and go to a custom-crush facility. You don't have to let the grapes rot, and you don't have to worry about wether someone will buy the grapes or not. Either way, you lose money. Even though the costs of the labor, crushing and bottling, and all other expenses, might be high at the moment, I think the profit might be substantially high. Not only are there fewer grapes to harvest, but as stated in the article, the grapes this year are of high quality because of all the mishaps. This means the wine will be of higher value. So, in other words, spend a little money on turning it into wine, then get more money (than what was spent on crushing) for the wine in the long run.
Emily Gouveia
9/2/2010 01:02:21 pm
I think it would be in the growers best interest to at least try to sell the grapes. Although they may have to spend money on picking the grapes, they at least have a chance of making money where as if they do not take the chance of harvesting the grapes there is no chance of a profit. No matter what choice the vineyard owners pick they take the risk of losing money. Letting the grapes rot is not a good idea because it gives them a 0% chance of making money where as harvesting the grapes gives them some chance to make a profit. I think it would be in the vineyard owners best interest to pay a custom crush facility because its less of a risk.
Corinne Church
9/2/2010 01:32:27 pm
With this situation I believe that the growers must look at the opportunity cost and evaluate what they are gaining and losing with each availible option. By letting the grapes rot they are gaining nothing but also saving the money from the labor it would take to harvest the grapes. Although logical I do not think this is an ideal option due to the fact that no profit at all is gained. Taking the grapes and selling them at or below cost would be the best option. Because then they are making some money even if it isn't what they were ideally planning on from the beginning.
Noel Escobedo
9/2/2010 01:56:47 pm
I think that the growers should sell their grapes at least to make a profit, or to pay a custom-crush facility to save the wine for later. If they leave the grapes to rot on the vine, all the hard work of the workers, and investment of the growers was for nothing. The profit the growers make from the grapes or the wine won't be much, but they will at least have money to pay the workers or use it for something else.
Victor Fernandez
9/2/2010 02:41:30 pm
After being aware of the situation with the grape growers i realized that it would be best for them not to pick the grapes and save the money they still have. I believe the numbers are against them; it's a longshot. Even if they were to sell the wine at a lower cost, how do we know that they will even gain a profit? The fact of the matter is that spending so much money to harvest the grapes and selling them at a lower cost is absurd. There's no profit and a lot of hard labor for such a small cost.
Kayla Horne
9/2/2010 02:54:21 pm
I believe that growers would be better off if they try to sell their grapes at cost or below, though they may not make as much as they did when the economy was prosperous, but it is still better than getting nothing at all and going out of business. If the economy is even worse for sales than predicted, and they can't sell their fruit, then they should pay a custom-crush facility to make the wine and try to sell it. Due to the fact that this is one of the most successful wine growing regions in the world besides France, the growers should be able to sell their product to consumers. Though the economy is at a low right now, there are people who will not give up some of the finer things in life like wine.
Alison Greer
9/2/2010 02:56:07 pm
It must be devastating for the farmers to see their years work potentially falling to the ground. I believe that custom crush is the best way to work with the situation considering the issues. It would be a complete waste to let the grapes rot because they have already spent so much money on the health and condition of their grapes. Waiting for grape buyers may be a bit risky considering their are no signs of interest in purchasing them. There fore, custom crushing seems the way to go. It gives the vineyard owners a bit more flexibility and won't waste their grapes. This process can bring about opportunities such as a custom label of limited wine, which could dramatically increase prices.
Tino Corro
9/2/2010 03:13:52 pm
I believe that the grape growers should consider, if any, future consequences of their choices. I believe they should let the fruit rot and save money because, if they sell them at or below cost, there is a chance there is not enough profit to pay the pickers, as they are being sold at or below cost. Paying to turn it into wine is an investment, but like all investments, they're not sure, especially if they can not sell the wine afterward; then they would actually lose profit. The best action i think is let the fruit rot, that way they save money to at least pay for further works. In other words, say they sell their crops at below cost, they still have to pay the pickers regardless how much they sell. If they invest into wine, there is de-profit to the sellers, with the unknown chance they will sell it. If they let the fruit rot, they save up money from not paying the pickers, and can make other payments to better the situation of the sellers, whether they need to or not. Of coarse this is an only choice that benefits the grape sellers, and not the pickers or workers.
Alora Horne
9/2/2010 03:16:27 pm
In my opinion I think that it would be best if the growers picked and tried to sell their grapes. Letting the grapes rot on the vine would be a complete waste. Although the growers might not get what price they want for their grapes, they at least have the chance to get some money back to put towards next years crop or pay off debt. Even though it is late for buyers to puchase grapes, it is most likely that buyers are waiting for the grapes to reach their lowest cost so that buyers can make a larger profit, even if that means that the growers don't get the price that they hoped for. Also, growers have already put so much effort into tending to the vineyards that they might as well pick the grapes. the growers should also pay to have them picked so that the vineyard can be looked over, especially since there is a new moth comming around and threatening the wine industry. In the end it would be in the growers' best interest to pick the grapes and hope that someone will purchase the grapes even if it is not at the price that the growers were hoping for.
Kelly Gutierrez
9/2/2010 06:28:01 pm
I believe that growers should not consider the option of letting their fruit rot on the vine. Letting their fruit rot can only leave them with despair. Although their choices may not offer the best this time, I believe they should attempt to sell their grapes or pay a custom-crush facility to turn their crop into wine and see whether a consumer will buy it. Wineries may not be interested in purchasing large amounts of grapes due to the economic decline, but evidence from the past year state that though farmers were concerned with the amount of sales, their grapes eventually did sell . They may not be able to sell it for what they desire, but at least get some amount of money even if it is not a profit. I say the only way for farmers to have a chance in making some of the money back that they put in to growing their crop is by attempting to sell what they can. I believe just forgetting about this year and moving on with the hope for a more prosperous year is not the correct way to go.
adriana de haro
9/3/2010 02:43:50 am
i never really relized how big of a impact the climate and economy had on the grape growning. i think what they should do is sell the grapes for a low coast. yeah they might not make the money they want to but at least its better then not getting any money at all. and if they let the grapes just rot there just letting the money they could have made go away. and if they try to make there own wine they might end up putting more money into it then the money they will get back of it.
Serena Lopez
9/3/2010 03:11:25 am
I think the climate has a big impact on this years harvest. I think this situation i would say that they should pick the grapes eventhough there not the best but its better to make a little bit of money instead of none especially through these tough times were everyone is losing their jobs and the economy is going down.
Maddy Densberger
9/3/2010 03:14:12 am
I think that in the interest of the vineyard owners, they should not risk paying a large amount of money to harvest the entire vineyard. They should let half of it rot and fall off and harvest teh other half a sell that. This way, the vineyard owner would recieve part of a profit for the grapes but not waste money harvesting the whole vineyard and letting the grapes that dont sell go to waste. The fruit that rots would just fall off the vine and not require any extra money or labor towards it and the next year you could pick it and hopefully be able to harvest your entire vineyard and sell all of, or most of, your grapes.
Bryan Marin
9/3/2010 03:46:22 am
I think that the grape growers should try to make some profit out of the grapes that they have been nuturing, because if they let the grape just rought they wont get anything out of it, so its better to get some cash then no cash.Its amazing how much impact the economy has in the wine industry,because if the economy drops so do the prices,and there are alot of winerys that cut workers because the labor for the wine growing is to high and since the wine doesnt sell the same the money with which the employees are paid is decreased.
Marat Ford
9/3/2010 03:13:18 pm
I think that it all really depends on the winery. Yet, it seems that the logical solution is to sell at at-or-below costs because revenue, after all, is income. This would not jeopardize the winery and its workers from pay. Although expansion of any facilities and acreage will halt, the wine itself will still stay the same. No matter what, revenue from basic tourism can possibly make the annual earnings to a break even from last year. It will still be the great tasting wine, just more economical.
Lucia Rojas
9/8/2010 07:49:54 am
they should lower the production of wine and store the rest as wine (the older the better) and as the number of production lowers the value of it grows. and until they regain the profit maintain the production to a minimal and pay the workers for how much they make then
Carol Taege
9/8/2010 12:15:51 pm
I was very unaware of the harm the weather was to the harvest and grape growers. I believe that attempting to sell the grapes at or below cost would be the best option at this point because leaving them to rot and making no profit at all could only hurt them more. Although turning their crops into wine could possibly work out in the long run as well, it would make the situation worse if the bottles didn't sell with all the work put into making them. It all comes down to the decision of the grape growers and what risks their willing to take or not. Comments are closed.
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