Buying During the 2026 Harvest: Which Grape-Market Numbers Are Actually Available?

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

A vineyard can be marketed during harvest with figures from several different years on the same page: the current crop estimate, last year’s receipts, an older district average and a forecast for the next season. Each may be useful. They should not be read as one completed account of the current market.

As of October 28, 2026, the timing of the statewide reporting process is especially relevant. Buyers can use property-specific information available now while keeping future published results clearly separated.

The 2026 report is a 2027 publication

CDFA’s published 2026 crop calendar lists January 29, 2027 for the questionnaire, March 15, 2027 for the preliminary report and April 30, 2027 for the final report. The department links the revised dates to AB 1322, effective January 1, 2026.

Those are the agency’s stated dates checked for this article. A number described during October 2026 as the final statewide 2026 crush result should therefore be investigated carefully. It may instead be a forecast, an earlier crop’s figure or a statement about a narrower set of observations.

Separate the crop year from the publication date

A report published in 2026 can concern grapes grown in 2025. That is not a defect; it is the ordinary difference between the period being measured and the date the findings become available.

Keep both dates beside the number when comparing properties. Otherwise, the latest publication can be mistaken for a measurement of the current harvest, while an actual current contract or delivery record receives less attention than it deserves.

Current property records answer a narrower question

A seller may have current crop estimates, harvest or delivery records, accepted quantities and an operative purchase agreement. These can inform the specific acquisition even before the statewide report is available.

Their scope should remain visible. A property’s forty delivered tons, for example, would be evidence about that operation under its particular records; it would not establish a county-wide yield or market average. An estimate of forty tons would be a different stage again.

Forecasts belong in the model as forecasts

Suppose a hypothetical buyer models fifty tons at $3,000 per ton, producing $150,000 of expected gross receipts. That calculation is transparent, but it remains an assumption until the relevant quantity and price are supported.

A second case at forty tons and $2,700 produces $108,000. The $42,000 difference shows why both inputs deserve attention. The example does not predict the 2026 crop or any local price; it illustrates how uncertainty can affect the purchase discussion.

Do not let the future report decide an immediate deadline silently

If the purchase decision occurs before a later publication, identify which evidence is available within the transaction’s actual timetable. Ask the appropriate advisers how the agreement treats unresolved crop receipts, adjustments and any period spanning the closing.

It may be reasonable to proceed on supported property-specific evidence. It may also be necessary to revise an assumption. The key is to state the basis of the decision rather than imply that a future statewide number has already resolved it.

Use the later publication for a defined update

When the preliminary or final report becomes available, compare it with the precise assumption it replaces. Preserve differences in district, variety, scope and final versus preliminary status. A later average should not be inserted into every line of an older property model without explanation.

Our 2025 crush-report interpretation explains the distinction between fruit prices and vineyard value. Explore real estate and home for sale in Napa and contact Diamond to connect a purchase with the evidence available for its actual decision date.

Source checked October 28, 2026. Reporting dates are CDFA’s published schedule and may change. Numerical crop and price scenarios are hypothetical, not current market findings.