BUNCH COUNT SUMMARY

Allied's 2007 San Joaquin Valley bunch count summary is contained in the first table below. The second table shows the percent change from 2006. For each of the major varieties we have numerous sample ranches, and each ranch has numerous vines we sample. This bunch count summary includes the San Joaquin Valley from Lodi to Delano and is broken into regions, as described below. Allied does not do bunch counts in the coastal regions due to the fact that most growers adjust their crop load significantly in those regions throughout the growing season anyway to meet winery expectations for cropload and quality. For some of the varieties in certain districts we have entered "N/A". This simply means that either there are little to no grapes of that variety grown in that district, we have insufficient or questionable data regarding that variety in that district or we don't have previous years data to make a proper comparison.

The following are average bunch counts per vine taken from various ranches in 2007.
2007 Allied Grape Growers Bunch Count Averages
       
  Central    
All & South North Lodi
White Varieties SJV SJV SJV Area
Chardonnay N/A 70.1 89.0 72.6
Chenin Blanc N/A 115.5 N/A N/A
French Colombard N/A 113.9 88.3 N/A
Muscat of Alexander N/A 59.3 N/A N/A
Thompson Seedless N/A 37.2 N/A N/A
Red Varieties
Barbera N/A 76.5 N/A N/A
Cabernet Sauvignon N/A 78.6 91.0 75.8
Carignane 89.3 N/A N/A N/A
Grenache 72.3 N/A N/A N/A
Merlot N/A 58.6 80.8 78.2
Rubired N/A 148.6 N/A N/A
Ruby Cabernet 98.2 N/A N/A N/A
Syrah N/A 80.2 80.5 N/A
Zinfandel (White) N/A 69.9 71.2 66.2
Zinfandel (for red) N/A N/A N/A 61.2
2007 Allied Grape Growers Bunch Count % Change from 2006
       
  Central    
All & South North Lodi
White Varieties SJV SJV SJV Area
Chardonnay N/A 33% 15% 25%
Chenin Blanc N/A 4% N/A N/A
French Colombard N/A -6% 19% N/A
Muscat of Alexander N/A 27% N/A N/A
Thompson Seedless N/A 70% N/A N/A
Red Varieties
Barbera N/A 31% N/A N/A
Cabernet Sauvignon N/A -17% -3% -11%
Carignane 17% N/A N/A N/A
Grenache -7% N/A N/A N/A
Merlot N/A -10% 4% 29%
Rubired N/A 11% N/A N/A
Ruby Cabernet 8% N/A N/A N/A
Syrah N/A -7% -3% N/A
Zinfandel (White) N/A 46% 70% 107%
Zinfandel (for red) N/A N/A N/A 105%


Depending on the variety and region, some 2007 bunch counts differ significantly from 2006. Bunch counts were down for some varieites and up for others, which shouldn't surprise us given that last year was about as close to an "average" crop as we can likely get. Some varieties that were on the short side last year, like Chardonnay and Zinfandel, are up in counts. The varieties that show the most drastic increases in bunch counts include Zinfandel and Thompson Seedless. There are no varieites showing large decreases from 2006. For white grapes, as a general statement, we can say that Chardonnay, Muscat Alexander and Thompson Seedless could experience larger crops in 2007 than in 2006, while French Colombard and Chenin Blanc look similar to last year. For red grapes, as a general statement, we can say that most varieties look to have a similar or larger sized crop than last year except for maybe Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, which are possibly down from last year.

It should be noted that although it appears cluster counts are comparable to, or better than, last year, the impact of the extremely dry and cold winter may not show until later in the crop development cycle. Bunch counts are only the first indication of potential crop size. Even if cluster counts are good, bunches may not end up weighing as heavily as in some years.

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