This year’s Southern Arizona wine grape harvest has been pretty exceptional, but Mark Beres and his Flying Leap Vineyards partners plan to leave as much as 30% of the fruit to die on the vine. Stephen Basila sold the nearly 16 tons of fruit he expected to get from the 8 acres he has under vine at Autumn Sage Vineyards, but he had to take a $500 per ton loss. Robert Carlson is offering similar discounts to wineries purchasing grapes from his family’s Carlson Creek Vineyard, and even then, he admits there’s a diminished market.
“Grape sales have decreased substantially this year, 40 to 50% less,” said Carlson, who hopes to sell at least half of the 150 to 160 tons of fruit he will yield from 60 acres he has under vine on his family’s 320-acre property. “A lot of our long-term clients are cutting back and from what I’m hearing, it’s a lack of demand and high inventories. I know of a couple of wineries that are not even making wine this year.
” Southwest Wine Center students sort through the fruit as part of the harvesting process. Vineyards statewide are reporting an abundant wine grape harvest, but a glut of wine is prompting some makers to hold off on producing wine this season. Courtesy Southwest Wine Center Count Vino Stache owner/winemaker Brooke Lowry Ide in that category.
With hundreds of cases of wine sitting in her cellar and dozens of barrels of wine waiting to be bottled, she has no space at her Elgin, Arizona, micro-boutique winery. While the South.
