by Dr. Brent Haggard
The acreage in California devoted to grapes, the state’s second largest farm commodity, rose slightly for wine grapes in 2006 and decreased for raisins. The state's 2006 grape acreage report showed total vineyard areas at 860,000 acres (344,000
hectares). Winegrape acreage, which accounted for 61 percent of the total, was 527,000 acres (210,000 hectare) in 2006, up 1 percent from 2005. That figure includes 480,000 bearing acres and 47,000 non-bearing acres. The two leading varietals are, not surprisingly, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
In 2005, all grapes were valued at $3.2 billion at farmgate, ranking second behind milk and cream on the list of the state's top commodities.
