Wine Yields From a Vineyard

As one of my vineyard manager co-workers famously says just about every other day whenever he answers a question like this, “It depends.” However, before I dive into all of the prevarications and provisos, here are some basic conversion assumptions for grape growing and wine production. These are handy facts to memorize so hopefully you can whip out the math at the drop of a hat when asked, or at least calculate them for yourself on the fly with (or without!) the help of your smartphone. Let’s start with certain numbers which winemakers can count on. Basic Conversions • 1 bottle = 750 mL or 0.750 L • 12 bottles = 1 case • 1 case = 9 L = 2.42 gallons • 1 barrel = 59 gallons = 223 L Now let’s move onto some less certain numbers that will depend largely on where and how you farm and how you produce your wine. Estimated vineyard yield • High-production/low-value wine grapes: 7-10 tons/acre(15.6 -22.4 metric tons/hectare) • Lower-production/higher-value wine grapes: 2-4 tons/acre (4.5 -9 metric tons/hectare) I would say