When life gives you lemons you should simply make lemonade. Faced with a sluggish wine market, some California growers of nonpremium wine grapes might likewise be well-advised to make grapejuice, according to two UC Davis agricultural economists. "There is a growing and dynamic market for grape juice concentrate as part of the world-wide market for natural fruit juice beverages and other products," said Dale Heien, a professor of agricultural economics, who recently co-authored a report with graduate student Ray Venner on the need for new products in the winegrape industry. According to Heien, winegrape growers in the San Joaquin Valley have, for the past decade, experienced low returns for their crops, largely due to tax increases on wine and to a shift in consumer preference toward the premium varietal wines made from grapes grown in the Napa Valley and other California coastal areas. He noted that recent surveys by the California Association of Wine grape Growers show that approximately 91,000 acres of San Joaquin Valley grapes -- primarily French Colombard and Tokays -- are currently slated for removal due to the weak market. While the wine market may look bleak for San Joaquin growers, there is tremendous potential in the market for grape-juice concentrate, which has a wide variety of uses in soft drinks and food products, the authors found. However, the use of grapes in this market is relatively new in California and there is considerable need for research and development of the product. "Grape-juice concentrate is most widely used as a sweetener in fruit juices, but its use in sparkling soft drinks is growing rapidly," Heien said. "Because grape-juice concentrate contains only fructose, which is a natural sweetener, foods and beverages made with grape-juice concentrate can be labeled 'sugar free.' " The opportunity to use a "natural sugar" would be a boon to food and beverage processors in today's nutrition- and health-conscious consumer market, Heien noted. "Based on the growth during the past few years, the potential for this market looks good," he said, adding that the concentrate's closest competition is with apple-juice concentrate. It also competes with sugar and artificial sweeteners. The competition occurs on a worldwide basis and is subject to considerable uncertainty. Although grape-juice concentrate currently is viewed as an outlet for surplus winegrapes, there is much that can be done to inform potential users in the food and beverage industries of the product's characteristics and possible applications, according to Heien and Venner. They recommend that processors establish quality standards for grape-juice concentrate, develop technical data and recipe applications, and assemble a promotional information package. Precise grades of grape-juice concentrate should be established, and specific red and white grape varieties for use in concentrate should be developed, they suggest. "Currently, grapes are produced blindly, with growers not knowing whether their grapes are going into wine or concentrate," Heien said. Grapes that will be processed for concentrate mainly need to have maximum sugar content, regardless of their acidity, which is an important consideration when the grapes are intended for wine. Heien and Venner recommend that research efforts be directed at developing grape varieties for concentrate, providing a better understanding of the components and properties of grapes and developing viticultural practices that will lower the cost of concentrate. The authors also suggest that research commissions be established for the wine and concentrate industries, that U.S. Department of Agriculture funding be sought to support export of grape concentrate and that proceeds from the duty on grape-juice concentrate imported from other countries be tapped for use in research and generic promotion. The study was funded by UC Davis with matching funds provided by the California Department of Commerce.