Grape Intelligence: Napa Bulk Wine at $12, Raisin Exports Up 11% and Trunk-Disease Pruning Plans

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It was a quiet week for grape news, so this issue leans on the dormant-season decisions now in front of growers. Analysts at a Nov. 10 finance symposium said bulk wine prices are still falling, with Napa bulk down to $12 a gallon.⁶ Raisin exports rose in October while domestic shipments slipped.⁷ In the vineyard, pruning plans, mealybug checks and new USDA work on red blotch and resistant rootstocks set up the winter.^1,3,4

This week in numbers

• $12: Napa bulk wine, per gallon, down from $16.25 a year ago (wine grapes)⁶
• 11%: Rise in California raisin export shipments in October vs. 2025⁷
• 574K: Hundredweight of table grapes shipped, San Joaquin Valley and Kern, week ending Nov. 7¹¹

For PCAs: Trunk Disease, Mealybug and Red Blotch

1. All grapes, statewide: plan pruning around trunk-disease risk before the winter rains

Seasonal reminder · UC IPM, text updated Dec 2014; statewide

UC IPM’s grape guidelines say every California vineyard is likely to be infected eventually by one or more trunk diseases: Eutypa, Botryosphaeria and Phomopsis dieback and Esca. Spores are released during winter rain, and fresh pruning cuts are the infection sites. Once a wound is infected, the wood infection is permanent and can’t be eradicated.¹

UC IPM says delaying pruning to February or later is very effective, because wounds are less susceptible then and the heaviest spore release comes with December and January rains. Double pruning (mechanical pre-pruning in early winter, final spur pruning in February or later) adapts that for large cordon-trained blocks. Because infections start in young vines, prevention pays most in blocks under 5 years old.¹

Next step: Before pruning crews start in December, sort blocks by age and trunk-disease history, and decide with the grower which ones can wait until February or be double pruned. Note dead spurs and stunted shoots to check next spring.

Source: UC IPM: Eutypa dieback in grapes

2. All grapes, statewide: vine mealybug moves under the bark and onto roots for winter

Research to apply · USDA ARS Parlier, project started Jul 2026; UC IPM; statewide

Vine mealybug does not go dormant. UC IPM says that outside the North Coast, eggs, crawlers, nymphs and adults spend the winter under bark, in buds and on roots, and in sandy soils almost only on roots; on the North Coast, nymphs winter under the bark at the graft union, on trunk pruning wounds and below spurs.² A USDA ARS team in Parlier began a two-year project in July to screen about 150 Vitis–Muscadinia hybrid lines for resistance and to test whether the resistant UCD-GRN1 rootstock protects a susceptible grafted variety.³

The mealybug spreads grapevine leafroll viruses, and infested bunches can be unfit for consumption. It can’t fly, so UC IPM names brush-pushing and other over-the-row equipment as a major source of new infestations, along with infested vines, stems and pomace.^2,3

Next step: This winter, check lower trunks and graft unions (and roots in sandy blocks) in vineyards with past infestations, and send suspect samples to the UCCE farm advisor or county agricultural commissioner for identification.

Source: UC IPM: Vine mealybug

3. Wine grapes, statewide: USDA tests whether a second treehopper spreads red blotch

Research to apply · USDA ARS Davis, project started Sep 1, 2026; statewide

A two-year USDA ARS project in Davis, started Sept. 1, is testing whether Tortistilus albidosparsus, a treehopper often found in California vineyards, can transmit grapevine red blotch virus. Its nymphs feed on vetch, and adults move onto vines as the vetch dries in late spring.⁴ The only vector shown so far is the three-cornered alfalfa hopper, confirmed in California and New York vineyards in a 2023 study in the journal Viruses, which noted that other vectors may exist.⁵

How red blotch moves from vine to vine shapes wine grape growers’ choices on roguing infected vines and replanting with tested stock. If a second treehopper proves to be a vector, vetch cover and oak edges near blocks (where its eggs are laid) could matter in tracking spread.^4,5

Next step: During the dormant season, review red blotch test results and vine maps by block, and note which infected blocks border oak woodland or carry vetch cover, to discuss with the grower before spring.

Source: USDA ARS: Epidemiology of virus diseases in grapevines

Pesticide-use note: Current California labels, permit conditions and county requirements govern pesticide use. Verify them before making or changing a recommendation.

For CCAs: Wine and Raisin Markets

4. Wine grapes, Napa, Sonoma and the interior: bulk wine prices say the glut isn’t over

New this week · Vinetur, Nov 12, 2026; Napa, Sonoma, interior

At the Wine Industry Financial Symposium on Nov. 10, Audra Cooper of Turrentine Brokerage put Napa bulk wine at $12 a gallon, down from $16.25 a year earlier, with Sonoma at $7 and some interior regions at $3.50. Turrentine’s bulk listing is about 25 million gallons, up from 20 million, and she said about a third of it has little real market. Spot grape prices rose somewhat after harvest, but not enough to signal a recovery, and Sonoma finished harvest with higher grape prices than Napa.⁶

Cooper said the bulk market likely needs about another year to reach bottom, and that if 2024-and-earlier wine isn’t cleared in 8 to 12 months, it could undo gains from vineyard removals. For growers without contracts, that points to another tight year for 2027 grape sales. These are a broker’s estimates, reported by a trade outlet.⁶

Next step: Before winter contract talks, review which blocks are uncontracted for 2027 and compare their likely spot value with pruning and farming costs.

Source: Vinetur: U.S. wine market showing early signs of recovery

5. Raisins, San Joaquin Valley: exports up 11% in October as domestic shipments slip

New this week · Raisin Administrative Committee, printed Nov 9, 2026; San Joaquin Valley

California handlers shipped 17,966 packed tons of raisins in October, down 2% from 18,283 a year earlier, the Raisin Administrative Committee’s report shows. Export shipments rose 11% to 4,838 tons, while domestic and Canada shipments fell 6% to 13,128. For the season since Aug. 1, exports are up 10% (13,066 tons) and domestic and Canada shipments down 5% (36,059 tons). Natural seedless, the bulk of the crop, is about even at 42,745 tons.⁷

Shipments are the demand side of the raisin market growers sell into: steady exports help move the 2026 crop, but softer U.S. shipments bear watching for next year’s field price talks.⁷

Next step: Track the November shipment report in early December against this pace, and note it alongside the committee’s Nov. 18 meeting when planning 2027 raisin acreage and variety decisions with growers.

Source: RAC: Shipment report, October 2026

Variety spotlight

Autumn Royal (table grape)

Use	Table; black, generally seedless
Origin	USDA ARS, Fresno (David Ramming and Ron Tarailo); Autumn Black × C74-1; released 1996
Ripens	First to second week of October, near the end of the U.S. table grape season

A black-to-purple-black fall grape from the USDA breeding program in Fresno, tested mainly in the San Joaquin Valley. USDA said at release that it stores well enough to be marketed into December, when shoppers have few quality seedless choices.⁹ FPS lists it as registered clean stock, Autumn Royal 01.1, planted in its Russell Ranch foundation vineyard in 2013.⁸

Crush and price watch: Table Grape Prices, Raisin Shipments, Bulk Wine

USDA AMS, Nov 10; RAC, Oct; Turrentine, Nov 10 · Table, raisin, wine

White seedless table grapes firmed this week on light supplies, while red and black varieties held steady, and USDA expects San Joaquin Valley and Kern shipments to keep decreasing through Nov. 21.^10,11 These are FOB shipping-point prices, not grower returns. The next wine grape price figures are the preliminary Grape Crush Report in February.

Table grapes, prices SJV and Kern · 19-lb bagged, L–XL, Nov 10	White seedless $32.95–36.95, mostly $32.95–34.95 (higher than a week earlier). Red seedless $23.95–28.95, mostly $23.95–25.95. Autumn Royal and Red Globe $26.95–28.95 (steady).10
Table grapes, shipments SJV and Kern · thousand cwt	574 in the week ending Nov 7, vs. 576 (revised) the week before and 648 two weeks before; movement expected to decrease.11
Raisins, shipments California · packed tons, Oct	17,966 tons, down 2%; Aug–Oct 49,125 tons, down 2% from 49,917.7
Wine grapes, bulk wine Per gallon · Turrentine, Nov 10	Napa $12 (from $16.25 a year earlier); Sonoma $7; some interior regions $3.50 (see item 04).6

Coming week watchlist

Now–Nov 21 Table grapes, SJV and Kern: USDA expects shipments to decrease as late varieties wind down; watch white seedless prices.¹¹

Nov 18 Raisins, statewide: Raisin Administrative Committee meeting, on its 2026 calendar.¹²

Dec–Jan All grapes, statewide: UC IPM’s highest-risk window for trunk-disease spore release, with winter rain on fresh pruning cuts.¹

Rules, comment deadlines and agency actions are in Tuesday’s Reg Watch

Your next moves

Scout lower trunks and graft unions (roots in sandy blocks) for overwintering vine mealybug in previously infested vineyards, from item 02, by Dec 1, before pruning starts UC IPM

Read UC IPM’s trunk-disease guidance on delayed and double pruning, from item 01, this week, before setting the pruning schedule UC IPM

Watch for the Raisin Administrative Committee’s Nov. 18 meeting and its November shipment report in early December, from item 05 RAC calendar

Editorial suggestions for field review, never a pesticide or product recommendation. In California only a licensed PCA can make a written pesticide recommendation.

What are you seeing?

Email info@jcsmarketinginc.com and tell us your crop, county and biggest field question.

We may take it up in a future edition.

Editorial note: Source findings are summarized above. The “Next step” passages are MyAgLife editorial suggestions for field review, not source-issued prescriptions. This report does not award CE credit.

Sources

1. UC Statewide IPM Program, “Eutypa Dieback,” Grape Pest Management Guidelines, text updated December 2014.
2. UC Statewide IPM Program, “Vine Mealybug,” Grape Pest Management Guidelines, updated March 2024.
3. USDA ARS, Parlier, “Grape Germplasm Evaluation to Identify Potential Host Plant Resistance for Vine Mealybug,” project 2034-21220-008-061-R, Jul 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2028.
4. USDA ARS, Davis, “Epidemiology of Virus Diseases in Grapevines and Orchard Crops,” project 2032-22000-017-074-S, Sep 1, 2026 to Aug 31, 2028.
5. Flasco, M.T., et al., “The Three-Cornered Alfalfa Hopper, Spissistilus festinus, Is a Vector of Grapevine Red Blotch Virus in Vineyards,” Viruses 15(4):927, Apr 7, 2023.
6. Vinetur, “Analysts say the U.S. wine market is showing early signs of recovery,” Nov 12, 2026 (Wine Industry Financial Symposium, Nov 10).
7. Raisin Administrative Committee, “Comparative Commercial Raisin Shipment Data, October 2026,” printed Nov 9, 2026.
8. UC Davis Foundation Plant Services, “Autumn Royal,” Foundation Grape Registry, accessed Nov 12, 2026.
9. USDA ARS, Agricultural Research magazine, “New fruit varieties,” August 1997.
10. USDA AMS Specialty Crops Market News, “Fresno Shipping Point Fruit Prices (FR_FV110),” Nov 10, 2026.
11. USDA AMS Specialty Crops Market News, “National Shipping Point Trends,” Nov 10, 2026.
12. Raisin Administrative Committee, “2026 Meeting Schedule,” accessed Nov 12, 2026.
13. Photos: item 04, wine grape clusters by Jessica Griffiths, and item 05, Sunpreme raisin grapes by Craig Ledbetter, USDA Agricultural Research Service. Top: licensed stock.