Bottle shortage fertilizer prices soar supply chain bottlenecks deepen California wine woes

Financial Associated Press (Shanghai, editor Bian Chun) news, the global supply chain crisis has clogged container ships, stores are empty, which also threatens one of California's most famous products - wine. That's exacerbated California's wine industry, which has been battling drought lately.

Dr. Kaan Kurtural, a viticulture expert at the University of California Davis, said Wednesday that the wine industry is experiencing supply chain bottlenecks due to "bottle shortages." He also pointed to some of the other problems the industry currently faces, including the inaccessibility of seeds and the "skyrocketing" of fertilizer prices.

Severe shortages of glass bottles have forced some winemakers to leave wine in barrels for too long, which can make the wine taste like a sawmill. Too much oak flavor can obscure the fruity aromas that characterize the wine itself.

In addition, paper items such as labels and bags, as well as cork stoppers, are also facing shortages, which are trapped in U.S. ports due to container jams, and the situation is expected to only worsen. In addition, the huge labor shortage in the trucking industry further lengthens the time it takes for these items to reach their final destination.

Demand for wine has increased during the coronavirus pandemic as Americans fight the epidemic on the spot to avoid potential infections. According to a report released by market research and analysis firm Nielsen, wine was one of the strongest-selling wines last year.

While demand is increasing, the U.S. wine industry has been dealing with severe droughts, and the situation is difficult to improve in the short term.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) previously reported that California and several other western states experienced the hottest summer on record, beating the extreme heat caused by a dust storm in 1936.

Nearly 60 percent of the western United States is facing an "extreme drought," while 98.32 percent is facing an "abnormal drought."

And it doesn't seem like the situation will be alleviated anytime soon. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's forecast for the winter of 2021, california is significantly below average in terms of precipitation, while temperatures are well above average. In addition, California already experiences water shortages.

According to media reports, drought has reduced California's wine production by an average of 20 percent, and in some vineyards, the decline has even been as high as 60 percent. In many cases, the vines have died, which may affect harvests for many years to come.

These problems have led to empty shelves and soaring prices, raising fears that consumer spending will be reduced, thereby slowing the pace of the economic recovery.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 5.4 percent in September from a year earlier, the highest level since 2008, according to the Labor Department. The data also shows that domestic wine prices rose 1.6 percent in September compared to the same period last year.