(ModBee) - The state’s wine grape harvest declined for a second straight year in 2015, but drinkers still have plenty of choices from wineries in Modesto and beyond.

The 2015 crop came in at 3.7 million tons, compared with 3.9 million in 2014 and the record 4.2 million the year before, the California Department of Food and Agriculture reported Wednesday.

The tonnage rose 8 percent in San Joaquin Valley vineyards, the main source for lower-priced products from the big wineries in and near Stanislaus County. Volume in the premium coastal regions dropped 29 percent.

Industry experts said the reduced statewide harvest does not mean higher wine prices, thanks to large supplies remaining from recent bumper crops.

“It’s not an adverse thing to the consumer,” said Erica Moyer of Riverbank, a grape broker and partner with Turrentine Brokerage, based in Novato. “It’s just an opportunity for the wineries to balance their inventories after three large crops.”

Even with the decline, the 2015 harvest was the fifth-largest on record in California, by far the top wine producer in the United States. It came amid a severe drought that has prompted many farmers to fallow annual crops and increase their groundwater pumping to keep vines and trees producing.

The annual report is closely watched in the Modesto area, where wineries employ several thousand people. Among them are E.&J. Gallo Winery, The Wine Group, Bronco Wine Co. and Delicato Family Vineyards. They also have operations in the premium regions, where the volume is much lower but the bottles are pricier.

A glut of wine grapes about a dozen years ago meant bargains for consumers, notably Bronco’s $1.99 Charles Shaw, better known as Two Buck Chuck. The industry now is seeing a higher growth rate in $10-and-up bottles, but the lower segments still do plenty of volume.

The average price for grape growers statewide was $680 per ton last year, down from $766 in 2014. It rose in premium regions such as Napa and Sonoma and was little changed in the stretch from Lodi to Merced.

Allied Grape Growers, based in Fresno, said the overall price drop resulted on one hand from the “ample” wine supplies and on another from the loss of high-priced coastal grapes.

Vice President Jeff Bitter said in a news release that the tonnage is generally headed upward.

“Even with short crops, we will continue to push close to 4 million tons crushed annually,” he said.

Robert Smiley, a wine industry expert and management professor emeritus at UC Davis, also sees strength.

“The two previous (harvests) were the biggest on record,” he told The Sacramento Bee. “It is still a healthy, significant crop.”

BY THE NUMBERS

$680: Average price per ton received by California wine grape growers in 2015, down from $766 in 2014 

$4,237: Average price in Napa, the highest region, up from $3,946

$616: Average price in Lodi region, down from $626

$453: Average price in region that includes Merced, Stanislaus and southern San Joaquin counties, down from $456

$1,350: Average price in Sierra Nevada foothills, up from $1,237

16: Percentage of grapes statewide that were chardonnay, the top varietal once again in 2015. Cabernet sauvignon was next at 12 percent, followed by zinfandel, French colombard, rubired and merlot.

92,432: Tons of raisin grapes grown in California last year, mostly around Fresno. This was 2 percent of the total grape crop.

70,711: Tons of table grapes grown in the state last year.

Source: California Department of Food and Agriculture

TOP PRODUCERS, 2015

Wine Business Monthly just released its annual list of the top California wine companies, based on cases sold in the U.S. market:

1. E.&J. Gallo Winery: 75 million cases (estimate). The company is based in Modesto and operates in several California regions, Washington state and several other nations.

2. The Wine Group: 57.5 million cases. The Livermore-based company’s holdings include the Franzia Winery near Ripon.

3. Constellation Brands: 50 million cases. Based in Victor, N.Y., it produces wine in Lodi and other parts of California and also is a major beer and liquor producer.

4. Bronco Wine Co.: 20 million cases. The company, based south of Ceres, also has operations in Escalon, Napa and Sonoma.

5. Trinchero Family Estates: 18.5 million cases. It is based in the Napa Valley and has operations in Lodi and elsewhere.