It’s harvest time in California wine country, but many growers are struggling to sell their grapes as changing drinking habits have caused demand to plunge, according to a KQED report. Wine sales have decreased by more than 20% over a five‑year period, which has lowered the price paid for grapes and prompted California growers to take roughly a quarter of the state’s vineyards out of production, said Jeff Bitter, president of Allied Grape Growers. This year about half of California’s wine grape crop entered the harvest season without contracts with buyers, compared with 70 to 80% that typically have contracts, Bitter added. As a result, some farmers are harvesting at a loss, leaving grapes on the vine, or replacing vineyards with crops such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios and olives. Third‑generation grower Bill Berryhill of Berryhill Family Vineyards near Lodi said he cannot find buyers for grapes grown on 200 of his 500 acres and plans to remove 50 acres of vineyards after the harvest. “It’s just sickening,” Berryhill told KQED, standing in a vineyard of unsold merlot grapes. “You raise a beautiful crop, and it’s really a nice vintage this year, and you drop it on the ground. It’s sad. All your work is just down the toilet.” He estimated he will lose money for sure, noting the operation has been a big loser for three years. Kyle Collins, a Lodi‑based operations manager with Allied Grape Growers, examined ripe petite verdot grapes in Lodi and said there is no buyer for them, a reality shared by many growers in the region. He added that the downturn hurts local businesses and farmworkers, whose wages depend on the grape harvest. The decline reflects a broader shift in the U.S. wine market. According to First Citizens Bank, formerly Silicon Valley Bank, U.S. wine case sales fell 23% from 427 million in 2020 to 329 million in 2025, and total wine spending dropped 22% from $94 billion to $74 billion over the same period. Global wine consumption also declined 2.7% from 2024 to 2025 and 14% from 2018 to 2025, per the International Organization of Vine and Wine, with sharp drops in Europe and China. Industry analysts cite aging baby boomers, younger consumers drinking less alcohol for health and financial reasons, and competition from craft beer, liquor, canned cocktails and cannabis as driving forces. Tariffs have further reduced exports, especially to Canada, which was once the largest foreign buyer of American wine. While growers hope the market will bottom out soon, many are absorbing heavy losses as they try to hold on to land that has been in their families for generations.
