On Oct 20, 10:31 pm, mtfes...@netMAPSONscape.net wrote:
> Declan Murphy <declan_mur...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > On Oct 20, 5:54?am, "John W." <worthj1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > On Oct 19, 3:30?am, Declan Murphy <declan_mur...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > > My other guess is that I will need to learn more about
> > > > Californian wine.-
>
> > > I just bought a few bottles from a small vineyard in Kentucky, of all
> > > places; not the greatest in the world, but I think it'll age nicely.
> > > Seems the state government there is giving out incentives to Tobacco
> > > farmers to switch to alternative crops, and grapes are quite popular.
> > If government incentives are the main inducement, then 20 years down
> > the track there will probably a wine glut. Having paid Australian
> > farmers to plant vineyards, taxes are now being used to pay some
> > farmers to pull the vines up. We never seem to get agricultural
> > water policy right.
>
> Corrected that.

Water is a separate problem (for truly stupid policy, research the Oz
cotton and rice industries). Some owners of unirrigated vineyards are
also being paid to pull out of the industry. Part of the problem was
over planting in some varietals, but the main problem was over
investment due to (tax incentive induced) market distortions.