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Fewer drinkers: A grim outlook for 2025 wine harvest
Coming off a very tough 2024, the wine industry is finding 2025 to be another year of fewer drinkers and slower sales. KTVUs Tom Vacar joins us from Napa where there are indicators that more wine is being produced than can be sold.
NAPA, Calif. - Coming off a very tough 2024, the wine industry is finding 2025 to be another year of fewer drinkers and slower sales. A telltale sign of trouble in California's wine industry may well be the appearance of ripped-out vineyard grapevines from the Oregon border to San Diego County.
Along Napa's State Route 29, you will see that some grape growers have pulled out some or all of their vineyards. Demand for wine is down largely because younger generations are not drinking wine like the Baby Boomers.
Winemaker Deepak Gulranjani is the owner of Nicholson Ranch Vineyards and Winery.
"Sometimes, there can be economic issues like what's happening right now. From what I read all around California, there's overproduction because there’s less demand, people are pulling out vineyards," said Gulranjani.
There can be many reasons to rip out vineyards, such as vines aging out, plant disease, insect infestations or planned replanting.
Last year, California's grape harvest was almost 25% lower than 2023, with this year’s demand looking no better. "Last year, in 2024, there were a lot of grapes, including in Napa and Sonoma that some people did not harvest. It's probably going to be true in 2025 as well," said the winemaker.
Business in the wine business is so challenging that some vintners are taking out some of their vines so they don't have to leave the fruit rot on them. Nonetheless, experts say as many as 100,000 tons of California grapes may be left to rot. That’s enough to fill nearly 4,200 semi-tractor trucks.
It is a nationwide problem for the $75 billion U.S. wine industry. But 80% of that is generated in California by 422,000 workers, according to the Wine Institute.
Karen McNeil, author of the Wine Bible, is the wine industry's best-known journalists and consultants. "It's true that the wine industry is facing a lot of challenges right now. But, at the same time, it's also true that the wine industry is an 8,000-year-old industry. It is based on an old value system of resilience in the face of nature and, in fact, resilience in the face of changing consumer drinking patterns," said MacNeil.
And what of labor shortages? A knowledgeable source says, so far, ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement have come to Sonoma/Napa Wine Country.
Sonoma County may self-impose a small wine tax, PR campaign to boost industry
The California wine industry, a major economic force in the state's agricultural and tourism base, is finding itself a bit unloved by younger generations.