For a while now, I keep reading how good the California harvest is for 2009. It has been suggested that 2009 may be one of those years that will be talked about and read about for years. That’s good news for wine enthusiasts.

The bad news is that due to the economy high priced wines have not been selling as well and some wineries are unwilling to produce more high-end wines that will require more storage. Further, some producers of high-end wines may cut back on production. For instance Wilson Creek Winery & Vineyards in Temecula Valley is considering not purchasing grapes from offsite growers in 2009.

I hope before the growers have allowed the grapes to rot on the vine, that they will think outside-of-the-box and come up with a way to use their grapes. Wineries would do well to look at Texas wineries. In the fifth largest wine producing state, some wineries began to cut back on production last year and this summer were already wishing they had not cut back.

Also, do wine grapes have to be used only for wine? Are there any chefs out there that might have an answer?

Cheers, Kathy