Sample Cost to Produce Organic Wine Grapes (Chardonnay - 2004) Sonoma County, CA (North Coast Region)
22 page PDF file for organic wine production in Sonoma County – UC Davis
http://coststudies.ucdavis.edu/uploads/cost_return_articles/grapeorgnc2004.pdf

Land. The hypothetical vineyard described in this study is assumed to lie in the Russian River Valley appellation in Sonoma County. The farm is owned and operated by the grower with assistance from a part-time foreman. The site has less than a 5% average slope and was previously planted to grapevines. The farm is 35 contiguous acres, 30 of which are planted. Roads, irrigation system, reservoir, and farmstead occupy the other 5 acres. There is no home on the property. The land is valued at $65,000 per acre.

Drip Irrigation System. Since the vineyard is established on land previously planted to grapevines it is assumed to have an existing well and an adequate water supply. A new pump, 15 horsepower motor, filter system, and nutrient injector were installed along with the drip irrigation system prior to planting. The cost of these components plus drip laterals and emitters and the labor to install each are included in the irrigation system cost. Water and in some situations, nutrients are pumped to the vineyard through a filtration station into a mainline, sub-mains and then the drip laterals along the vine rows.

Two moderate-to-high yielding clones of Chardonnay are planted in the vineyard. In this study, the average annual yield is 6 tons per acre, however in reality, production is strongly influenced by the vineyard’s specific location within the Russian River Valley and weather that may significantly impact yield in some years. The owner is responsible for making all of the production decisions, hires the general laborers and operates the machinery. Basic hourly wages are $11.57 for general labor and $14.93 for machine labor. Payroll overhead is in addition to these wages.

Vines. Dormant, bench grafted Chardonnay vines are planted on a 6-foot X 8-foot spacing (vine-by-row)
resulting in a planting density of 908 vines per acre. In the second year 4% or 36 vines per acre are replanted.
Vines are trained during the first and second years and are expected to begin yielding harvestable fruit in the
third year (third leaf) and be productive for an additional 22 years.
Vineyard Design. The vineyard is laid out in three blocks each containing 40 rows. There are two avenues
between the three blocks with turn around space for equipment at the end of the rows. The rows are 1,000 feet
long and have 166 vines per row.

Trellis System. The trellis system in this study is designed to support a bilateral cordon-trained, spur-pruned vineyard. Five-foot, 3/8 inch rebar stakes are on six foot centers and every third position has an in-line, ninefoot rolled edge metal highway stake. Each end post is a nine-foot, 2-7/8 inch drill pipe with a double spade. A single 12 gauge, high tensile permanent cordon wire is attached to all stakes and end posts at a 36-inch height. During the growing season, two pairs of movable, 14-gauge, high tensile wires are moved up the stakes as shoot growth occurs and are held in position by notches in the highway stakes. The trellis system, considered part of the vineyard since it will be removed at the time of vine removal, is included in the Vineyard Establishment Costs.

Prune, Tie, and Sucker. Pruning and tying are done during the winter months - January, February - and the prunings are placed in alternate middles and chopped with the “annual grass centers” mowing pass in February (see Cover Crop). Cordon shoot removal is done twice each year, once in April and again in May. Trunk suckering occurs once a year in May.

Canopy Management. Wires are moved three times – once in April and twice in May - during each growing season in order to vertically position the canopy. Leaves or lateral shoots are removed by hand from the fruiting zone, once in either June or July, on the side of the row that receives the morning sun. The vine shoots are mechanically hedged once after veraison (July) just above the top of the highway stakes.

Crop Adjustment. In July, at 10% veraison (i.e. 10% of the fruit has started to ripen), the crop is adjusted by
thinning. Fruit clusters are removed from shoots shorter than 18-inches in length. A single cluster is retained
on shoots between 18 and 30-inches in length and two clusters allowed to remain on shoots greater than 30
inches.

Cover Crops. Two different cover crops are planted in the vineyard in alternating row middles. A leguminous cover crop mixture (“annual legume centers”) is planted every year to provide cover during the winter, add organic matter, and fix nitrogen. A combination of mowing and cultivation is used to manage this cover crop. Another cover crop mix, primarily grasses (“annual grass centers”), is planted in the remaining alternate centers and is reseeded every fourth year and mowed only. For each cover crop the centers are prepared for planting in October of the appropriate year by disking. The crop is then planted, rolled, and irrigated. Because the “annual grass centers” are planted every fourth year, one-fourth of the cost is charged to the budget each year.

Fertilize/Soil Amendments. In April of each year, the grower broadcasts the compost in the vineyard on the “annual legume centers” with a tractor and material spreader (see Cover Crops). The compost is biologically active, screened and the source material consists of green waste and manure. In three out of five years, compost at five tons per treated acre is applied and in two of five years, four tons per treated acre are applied. Over five years, this averages 4.60 tons per treated acre (2.30 tons per broadcast acre) per year. In years that the compost is reduced, one ton of either gypsum or oyster shell lime is commercially blended with the compost. Based on a five-year cycle, the costs for each material are allocated to the budget each year at 0.20 tons per treated acre (0.10 tons per broadcast acre) and the material costs are shown as a line item in the tables. Application costs aremshown only on the compost line item in the tables because the gypsum and lime are blended with the compost.

Tissue Analysis. Every third year, opposite cluster petioles are collected at bloom for tissue nutrient analysis and one-third of the labor and laboratory cost is allocated to the budget each year.

Irrigation. The irrigation cost includes pumped water at $6.03 per acre-inch, and irrigation labor at 0.15 hours per irrigation per acre. The cost is based on using 15 horsepower (hp) motor to pump from 150 feet deep. Price per acre-foot of water will vary by grower in this region depending on quantity pumped, power cost, various well characteristics, and other irrigation factors. No assumption is made about effective in-season rainfall or the irrigation system’s emission uniformity. Irrigation occurs weekly through the drip system from May through September. Overhead sprinklers are turned on once every year in the fall to apply 2 acre-inches to the cover crop. This is to insure adequate and timely germination of the cover crop and is applied to the entire vineyard.

Frost Protection. It is assumed that the vineyard will need frost protection with overhead sprinklers for a total of six nights from March through May and the sprinklers will run six hours per night. Annual frost protection water use totals 3.96 acre-inches. The cost includes the water at $7.18 per acre-inch and labor at 0.50 hours per acre-inch. The water cost is the water pumped from the irrigation well to the reservoir and the cost to operate the booster pump. After each frost protection event the reservoir is filled with water from the well.

Pest Management:

Insects and Mites. It is assumed that it is necessary to treat grape leafhoppers every three years and mites every year. An Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) approved oil (JMS Organic Stylet-Oil) is applied in late April and early May for mite as well as disease control and every third year in early June for grape leafhopper control. The June leafhopper spray replaces the respective sulfur disease spray. One-third of the material and application costs for the June leafhopper spray is shown as a cost each year.

Disease. Lime sulfur is applied once every two years in alternate rows as a dormant spray for mildew and
phomopsis control, thus one-half of the cost is charged to the vineyard each year. Powdery mildew and
phomopsis preventative fungicide applications are also made just after budbreak in early April and again 10-
days later. Kumulus DF, an organic approved wettable sulfur (S) and Champion, an organic approved copper
(Cu) are used in both applications, which are made to alternate rows.

In late April and early May, JMS Organic Stylet-Oil is applied to prevent shoot botrytis and powdery mildew and control mites.

Powdery mildew is controlled later in May at bloom with Kumulus DF sulfur and Serenade. In early June, Kumulus DF sulfur is applied once followed by a late June application at pre-bunch close when Serenade is added to the tank.

One year out of every three, the early June application is replaced with oil for leafhopper control, therefore two-thirds of the sulfur material and application costs are included each year.

Dusting sulfur for mildew control is applied twice in July and once in August. All pesticide applications are made using a 60 HP tractor and a vineyard duster or sprayer.

In some years, the vineyard floor is too wet for tractor access in April; therefore the two applications of the Kumulus DF and Champion tank mix are applied using an ATV, but is not accounted for in this study.

Hand leaf removal occurs during June or July on one side of the canopy to reduce the incidence of Botrytis
bunch rot and to improve spray penetration.

There are no costs assigned to control Pierce’s disease in this study. The incidence of this disease in Sonoma
County vineyards is quite variable; however control measures and annual replanting costs can be significant in
“hot spots.”

Weeds/Vineyard Floor Management. Weeds in the vine row centers are managed differently depending on the
cover crop. Mowing and cultivation are used to manage vegetation in the centers. Flaming, hand hoeing, and
mechanical cultivation are used to control weeds in the vine rows.

Annual Grass Centers. A winter annual grass mixture – blando brome, zorro fescue, crimson clover – is
planted in these centers and mowed with a flail mower a total of three times: February, April, and May. The
winter vine prunings are placed in these centers and chopped with the February mowing. The following two
mowings are timed to maximize mature seed development.

Annual Legume Centers. An annual mixture of legumes and grasses – vetch, bell beans, peas, and oats –
is planted in these centers. The centers are mowed in April then disked two times in May prior to seed head
development. In June, the centers are cultivated with a spring tooth cultivator.

Vine Rows. The weeds in the vine rows are flamed once during the winter and early spring to kill winter
weeds. The first flaming pass is in January and the second in February or March depending on spring
temperatures and weed growth. If flaming occurs in late spring, the centers must be disked to avoid fire danger and possible vine damage. The cost includes an ATV pulling a 50-gallon propane tank and flamer loaned by the propane supplier. A single-sided in-row cultivator makes two passes per vine row – the first in either April or May, and the next in July. This reduces the weed population in the vine row, but leaves some weeds near the vine. In-row cultivators vary in function and effectiveness, yet all will leave an island of weeds around the base of the vines and stakes. Therefore that area is hand hoed in July.

Harvest. The fruit is mechanically harvested at a contract rate of $50 per ton. It is assumed that the grapes are
delivered to a local winery (within a 15 mile radius) and the hauling costs are $25 per ton.
Yields. The estimated average annual yield is 6 tons per acre. Yields range, depending on the environment and
location, from 3 to 8 tons per acre. In some situations, and in years with high pest populations, organic yields
may be lower than conventional yields because fewer treatment options, or organically approved pesticides, are
available to treat immediate or pressing needs. Organic yields are assumed to yield equivalent to conventional
yields in this study.

Returns. A price premium for organic wine grapes paid by the wineries does not currently exist. Therefore, organically produced grapes are sold at the same price as conventionally produced wine grapes. This study uses the 1998 – 2002 weighted average price of $1,838 per ton as shown in Table A.