"THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2017 at 5:00 PM PDT This year the harvest...

"THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2017 at 5:00 PM PDT

This year the harvest in Europe’s three main producing countries has been affected by unfavorable weather issues
causing yields to be significantly lower. Spain, France and Italy faced the same weather issues. There was a frost
in April, hail in June, and severe heat in July and August along with minimal rainfall during the winter. As a result,
France and Italy’s harvest began up to a month earlier than usual.

The yields from the the first pressings are down by 30% in Spain (MANCHA), 25% in France (Languedoc), and 30% in Italy (Puglia and Sicily). The Assoenologi (Enologist association in Italy) on August 22nd, forecasted a 25% decrease in crops; 41,1 million hectoliters(4.110 billion liters) versus 54,13 hectoliters in 2016.

In July, France’s Agrimer were already estimating a 17% decrease in crops. Now most are predicting a 20% loss. Spain’s national crop historically has been 38-40 million hectoliters. In July the Cooperative Agro-Alimentarias of Castilla la Mancha predicted a 21,5 million hectoliters versus 24.22 in 2016, a decrease of over 11%. Extremadura region should start harvest in the next 10 days which will give us a better view.

The quality of the white wine should be good, however, the acidity in the whites will be lower. The reds have to be
harvested earlier than they have been in the last five years, as there could be higher alcohol content. Potentially this
may effect the phenolic maturity of the reds, as well.

In short the smaller yields (potentially 30 million hectoliters) will cause prices to increase; although no prices
have been determined at this time. Additionally, given lower yields in South America and what looks like to be an
average crop in California the bulk wine market could be tight in 2018."

For those that dont know, half of all wine production comes from Italy, Spain and France

Cheers

Rusty