They’re not wrong about the wine industry being in a downturn. I live in “wine country” and large and small vineyards are being abandoned, grapes aren’t selling, they’re just being left on the vines. Vines are being left to die without irrigation. It’s changing the landscape here.
yeah but how much of that is due to tariffs and immigration enforcement and how much of it is due to weather. last season was wet in wine country
edit: i’m a few hundred miles from kern wine country, you might be talking about a different one than napa/sonoma?
I’m taking about Sonoma County specifically, and in my neighborhood there is a 4 acre vineyard that has had to let the grapes go unpicked for the last two years, since they couldn’t find a buyer and a 400 acre EJ Gallo vineyard that is no longer irrigated and the vines are dead. But the problem is state wide:
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/too-many-grapes-in-california
The California wine industry is in the doldrums as it faces three challenges at once: consumer spending on wine is declining, inventory is backed up in the sales pipeline and there’s a glut of grapes and bulk wine left over from the 2024 harvest. The last hazard, the oversupply of grapes, poses an immediate threat. Many growers, even in top regions like Napa, are struggling to sell their fruit. Experts estimate tens of thousands of acres of vines will need to be pulled up to fight the oversupply.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/wine-industry-uncertainty/3905912/?amp=1
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/jeff-cohn-closes-his-sonoma-winery
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/sonoma-county-wine-business-20798286.php
i had no idea we were overgrowing. i mean, just thinking globally national exports are expected to go way down just next quarter and next year, and with california wines as a conspicuous target for boycott, we’re still definitely overgrowing over what we can be expected to sell short term unless they decide to do longer-lived wines but like i know shit about wine as you can see.
As someone who lives in wine country somewhere not trying to destroy global trade, it looks like wine is booming.
Which wine country is that?
That’s a pretty standard practice it seems. I think it is technically illegal but in this here cuntry, Capital is not subject to much of any law.
