Wine connoisseurs, take note: Central Coast vintages will become more expensive because of a grape shortage, experts said Thursday at the 18th annual Central Coast Insights wine symposium.
The principles of supply and demand were highlighted throughout the symposium as industry experts discussed the future of the Central Coast wine industry.
Wine grapes are San Luis Obispo County’s top crop, earning $173 million in sales in 2010, according to the latest annual crop report by the county Agricultural Commissioner’s Office.
“We have entered a period of shortage for all grapes,” said Matt Turrentine, an Atascadero-based broker who handles Central Coast sales for Turrentine Brokerage of Novato.
He was one of the featured speakers at the symposium, which drew several hundred people to the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Luis Obispo.
Sales and shipments of wine are up. But the past couple of years have yielded lighter crops, both locally and globally, and that has led to low inventories.
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