Outlook: North Coast vineyard values will grow, just not as fast

Vine Notes

Charles Day of RabobankCharles Day (email) is senior vice president and area manager of the North Coast Food & Agriculture group of Rabobank, N.A. Vine Notes is a monthly column (see previous columns) by authors from Rabobank and Farella Braun + Martel. The content, views and opinions in this article are based upon research documents “California Agricultural Land Values Outlook 2016: Back to Reality” and “Wine Quarterly Q4 2016,” produced by Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory. The information contained herein is intended for general educational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal, tax or financial advice. Please consult with your own legal, tax or financial adviser for guidance with your own particular circumstances.

Rabobank, member FDIC, equal housing lender, NMLS #649477

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California agricultural land values have enjoyed an impressive run in recent years. Due to limited supply and increasing global demand for specialty crops, this trend is likely to continue in the long term.

In Rabobank’s California Agricultural Land Value Outlook, published in October, research shows how agricultural land values have risen at a pace far exceeding historical trends, posting double-digit annual gains between 2010 and 2015. This upward movement in values has been broadly shared across many agriculture regions in the state.

In the North Coast vineyard market, continued growth in demand for premium wine has driven grape prices steadily higher and pushed land values in the area to new peaks. Early in the recovery, there was strong demand from winery buyers for established, producing vineyards. Demand has now spread to plantable land and vineyards outside “core” Napa and Sonoma appellations, all of which have seen values increase at a compound annual growth rate of 8 percent to 10 percent in the last five years.

While demand for wines from the North Coast is growing at a healthy clip, as grape harvest tallies from the Northern Hemisphere are summed up, supply from EU nations is expected to drop 3 percent to 4 percent in 2016. Add to that the poor harvests in notable Southern Hemisphere producers, such as Chile and Argentina, and wine production from “new world” countries may be off by more than 10 percent combined.

Though global wine supply and demand may not directly correlate to vineyard prices on the North Coast, the fact that wine demand is growing while supply is declining will help keep upward forces in place, particularly as supply constraints may be structural. Weather played a key role in 2016’s global harvest volume, but investment in new vineyards has been at a low ebb in many producing countries, as weak profitability has truncated appetite for investment.

Despite rising grape demand, figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show vineyard acreage decreased last year in all but one North Coast county - Lake - albeit by small percentages. The lack of suitable plantable land in premium growing regions likely will not allow supply to catch up to demand at current growth rates.

With a backdrop of limited supply and growing demand, what factors would curtail growth in North Coast vineyard values? Most likely, macroeconomic shocks dramatically would impact interest rates and change the general direction of the economy. Although growth in the overall U.S. economy has been below desired levels, our regional economy has been performing well, and slow growth and low inflation conditions have kept interest rates at historically low rates.

While the impact of the recent elections creates ever more uncertainty, the fundamentals remain in place for continued vineyard appreciation. After years of very solid growth and prices reaching lofty heights for high-profile properties, it would be tempting to call a peak. We expect that appreciation rates may moderate somewhat, but the elements clearly remain in place for long-term value growth.

Charles Day (Charles.Day@rabobank.com) is senior vice president and area manager of the North Coast Food & Agriculture group of Rabobank, N.A. Vine Notes is a monthly column (nbbj.news/vinenotes) by authors from Rabobank and Farella Braun + Martel. The content, views and opinions in this article are based upon research documents “California Agricultural Land Values Outlook 2016: Back to Reality” and “Wine Quarterly Q4 2016,” produced by Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory.

Vine Notes

Charles Day of RabobankCharles Day (email) is senior vice president and area manager of the North Coast Food & Agriculture group of Rabobank, N.A. Vine Notes is a monthly column (see previous columns) by authors from Rabobank and Farella Braun + Martel. The content, views and opinions in this article are based upon research documents “California Agricultural Land Values Outlook 2016: Back to Reality” and “Wine Quarterly Q4 2016,” produced by Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory. The information contained herein is intended for general educational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal, tax or financial advice. Please consult with your own legal, tax or financial adviser for guidance with your own particular circumstances.

Rabobank, member FDIC, equal housing lender, NMLS #649477

Read other stories on wine industry M&A: nbbj.news/mna

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