2025 California Grape Crush Report

 The state agriculture department has released the 2025 Preliminary Grape Crush Report. Following are a few highlights.

Could This Be a Big Reason Why Wine Sales are Down?

You've heard that wine sales are looking gloomy, and you've probably heard different reasons why.

Younger consumers don't think it's cool because their parents drink it. There's too much competition from newer beverages like RTDs (ready-to-drink alcoholic drinks in cans), seltzers, ciders, and craft beer.  There are health concerns. Another contributing factor is a post-pandemic let-down after huge sales just after businesses reopened in 2021. These all contribute, but price may be key.

Large and Small, the Two Wine Industries

Looking at the differences in large vs. small wineries we'll focus on what's typical for each. Large ones are usually owned by corporations or at least have corporate-like structures. Small are family owned and operated. They are different in many ways.

Northern California's Wine Regions

  When people think of California wine, they usually think of Napa Valley Cabernet first. Then maybe Sonoma County, specifically Russian River Valley, for Pinot Noir. There's actually a lot more. This is a look at the main wine regions of Northern California, listed alphabetically.

Wine Regions Experiencing Growth

It's not entirely doom and gloom for the American wine biz. There are areas that are adding vineyards and have new wineries planned. Here's a few of them.

Wine Tasting Deals in Sonoma County

 These are the current deals on wine tasting that I've run across.

The Phases of Wine Sales Going in the Crapper

There are five stages of grief: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. So far with the wine business facing a downturn I've seen action, panic, and marketing. 

Action is ripping out vineyards and lay-offs. That is, cutting product and people -- the usual corporate steps. Panic is the fear you can sense in writing and speech from some in the industry. Marketing is what I see now as people are trying to get more time and money spent on reminding people to buy wine, sometimes in weird ways. One is a tasting room tax on sales with the money going to some as yet undetermined group to do some sort of marketing. 

Whatever the next phase is, I hope we get there soon because this marketing phase seems wrong.

I vote for giving the people what they want. That would be things like fun, unpretentious wine in cans, or at least something beside a 750ml glass bottle. Get rid of the corks, add ingredient labeling. I don't know which phase this is, but I hope it's one of them. Innovation, baby!

Thanks for your attention to this matter.  

Beautiful Wineries of Sonoma County

Some of the most eye-catching wineries in the county are listed below. I don't make any claim to these being the most beautiful as beauty is in the eye of the beholder / beer holder / Chardonnay holder. 

Some are more for the architecture, some for the surrounding landscape, some have artwork. 

The Other Valley for Cabernet

Napa Valley is synonymous with Cabernet Sauvignon. There are folks out there who believe Napa is the only place for Cab. There's another valley, and it's not too far from Napa.

Spring 2026 Events in Sonoma County

The big happenings from March through May in Sonoma County, some are wine-related, some aren't.

Before American Wines Were Labeled With Grape Names

  American wine wasn't always named for its varietal (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, etc.).

Cost of Goods Sold for Wine

What determines the price of a bottle of wine? There's definitely supply and demand, for certain wines and for certain grapes from certain places. What we'll cover here are the basics or labor, material, and overhead.