A recently released product-development study by two UC Davis agricultural economists offers new hope to California's winegrape industry, currently faced with a sluggish wine market. The study advises California growers of nonpremium winegrapes to consider redirecting their crops toward grape-juice concentrate. "There is a growing and dynamic market for grape-juice concentrate as part of the worldwide market for natural fruit juice beverages and other products," says Dale Hein, a professor of agricultural economics. In an analysis of the need for new products in the winegrape industry, Hein and graduate student Ray Venner found that there is a healthy market potential for grape-juice concentrate made from winegrapes. The study was prompted by a decadelong decline in the market for winegrapes grown in the San Joaquin Valley. While the wine market is waning, the grape-juice concentrate market is experiencing renewed vigor, the study revealed. Since the concentrate contains only fructose, a natural sweetner, foods and beverages made with grape-juice concentrate can be labeled "sugar free," notes Hein.