Is California’s Wine Industry in Trouble?

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2024

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

California’s $55 billion wine industry is experiencing a downturn for the first time in decades. Wine consumption peaked in 2021 and has fallen each year, dropping 8.7% in 2023 according to one industry report. With bottles sitting on store shelves, cases piling up in winemakers’ warehouses and farmers unable to sell their crops, the ripple effects of the drop in wine-buying are felt throughout the industry. In California’s Central Valley, certain grape growers are diversifying, swapping grapes for other crops; others are demolishing their vineyards and transitioning to solar farms. Financially strained growers, unable to pursue either option, are left with having to allow their crops to wither on the vine. But is this just a short-term market correction or is California’s wine industry in serious trouble? We look at the potential factors underlying the downturn and explore the impact on Californians. Guests: Esther Mobley, senior wine critic, San Francisco Chronicle Amanda Mccrossin, wine content creator Ryan Woodhouse, domestic wine buyer, K&L Wine Merchants Stuart Spencer, executive director, Lodi Winegrape Commission; owner and winemaker, St. Amant Winery Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for Key QBD Podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport. At SFO, you can shop,
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0:56.6	From KQBD in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim. Coming up on forum, the party may be over for California's
1:20.1	wine industry, which saw annual growth for 25 years. But wine consumption's fallen nearly 9%,
1:27.0	according to a leading industry analyst,
1:29.3	and some winemakers have reported fewer cases sold while some growers have ripped out acres
1:34.3	of vineyards as demand for grapes has dropped. But could it just be a market correction,
1:39.3	as some analysts suggest, or does it spell long-term trouble? We look at what's driving the downturn and hear from you.
1:46.0	Have your wine consumption habits changed?
1:49.0	Forum is next after this news.
1:56.0	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim. Was wine the drink of choice at your Memorial Day, weekend, barbecue, or gathering? Maybe it was beer, cocktails, none of the above? Competition from canned cocktails and hard seltzers or the growing popularity of not drinking are seen as some of the reasons California's wine industry
2:19.3	has seen a drop in consumption for the first time in decades.
2:23.5	Whatever the drivers, some winemakers and grape growers,
2:26.7	especially in the Central Valley, are already feeling the hit.
2:30.4	This hour, we hear from some of them and from you.
2:33.4	Are you drinking less wine these days? Tell us why at 86673786 at 866 at
	...

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