About CWIAB
About the Advisory Board
The California Winegrape Inspection Advisory Board (CWIAB) is headquartered in Dinuba, California, where it is managed under contract by Monfort Management Services with John Gilstrap named as manager and JD Allen as Assistant Manager. The Dinuba office is responsible for the collection of the assessments, the payment of the board’s bills, the oversight of the inspection operations, and the maintenance of the board’s records.
Our History
In 1939, leaders of the industry realized there was a need to guarantee the level of sugar in grapes delivered for processing. Legislation was passed, making third party inspection mandatory on all loads of grapes where the purchase price is based on soluble solids content.
In 1959, the first quality inspections to determine the amount of mold and decay in grapes were performed by hand sorting defective grape berries from representative samples.
By 1971, the wine industry became aware that “Material Other than Grapes” (MOG) delivered in loads of grapes was detrimental to the making of quality wine. The Wine Institute funded necessary research to establish “foreign material” inspection procedures and the Program began inspecting and certifying the pounds per ton and percentage of MOG in loads.
On April 30th, 2005 the CDFA issued the “California Winegrape Inspection Marketing Agreement”. The Winegrape Inspection Advisory Board was established to assist the Department in administering the Program.
Each year the board recommends the establishment of the inspection fees for the fiscal year. Both vintners and growers share the cost of inspection. The Winegrape Inspection Program continues to provide extensive classroom and practical training for personnel in order to guarantee quality inspections and accurate certifications.
