Guadalupe Valley vinters, suffering one of worst years, seek relief

By Erick Falcon
CNNExpansion

According to an old belief in winemaking, one must struggle a bit to get better grapes for wine. Therefore, it is sometimes beneficial to limit risks.

But in Baja California's Guadalupe Valley, the source of 80 percent of Mexico's wines, a water shortage has pushed risk to the extreme.

David Bibayoff Dalgoff, the owner of the Bibayoff vineyard, has had to halt production on 14 hectares of vineyards due to the lack of water. Five of his six wells are dry. Of the 25 tons of grapes that he expected in 2008, he garnered only six. This year, Bibayoff managed to achieve only 40 percent of his normal production.

For seven years, the Guadalupe Valley aquifer has continued to shrink from overuse making grape production increasingly difficult.

But not only the wells drying up, the lack of water is just one of the problems that Guadalupe vintners have dealt with this year.

Increased taxes and distribution costs wiped out almost half their profits. To make matters worse, the economic crisis depressed sales by up to 20 percent and driven away foreign visitors who have made the valley one of Baja California's top tourist spots.

Both large and small producers are going through one of the most complicated scenarios in recent years.

www.cnnexpansion.com/expansion/2009/11/25/El-peor-ano-de-los-vinedos