In tough economic times, when grape prices went down, these families struggled even more than usual.

As a result, grape prices are up 30 percent to 35 percent this year, he said.

Impact International, a trade newsletter, cited a confluence of factors, all set off by the precipitous rise of grape prices in 1990.

In any case, the industry plans to seek lower grape prices this fall and to set aside part of the 1992 harvest for a less abundant year.

So grape prices rose: they went up 11 percent over all in Napa last year and 10 percent in Sonoma.

During the same period, grape prices in Sonoma County rose 85 percent.

Until recently, a new contract was negotiated each year on grape prices; 20 francs a kilogram, 23 francs, 25 francs.

The wine industry, already reeling from steep increases in Federal excise taxes, could see grape prices rise as well.

A percentile system known as the Échelle des Crus ("ladder of growth") acts as a pro-rata system for determining grape prices.

Demand for both wines currently outstrips supply, and grape prices have soared.