Unsold Grapes, Vines Pulled Out

It was a tough year for grape growers. Not just a cyclical "normal" tough year, but really tough. The following is taken from an 11/12/25 article by Sarah Doyle in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that is only available to subscribers. I'll hit a few highlights while trying not to plagiarize.   :)

 

Grapes left on the vine after harvest in Lodi
image from nbcrightnow.com

 

This could be the smallest California wine grape crush in 30 years. Producers are scaling back production because of a glut of unsold wine in tanks, barrels, and in bottles. This means they didn't buy as much fruit from growers. That fruit was left hanging on the vines unsold. Money down the drain. Many don't know how to prepare for next year. Some are getting out of the business now, assuming worse days are coming.

Alcohol consumption is down. Tariffs are hurting exports. Another issue is we may still be recovering from the crazy up-and-down sales during and right after the Pandemic lockdown. The latter is not in the article, but my opinion.

The California Association of Wine Grape Growers estimates that 38,000 acres (about 6% of the total) of vines bearing fruit were removed between Oct '24 and Aug '25. This includes 2,700 acres (4%) in Sonoma and 3,100 acres (7%) in Napa. Other vineyards have been abandoned.

Likewise, almond and other nut crops are facing a similar dilemma, with exports to China down significantly. 

One large grower in Sonoma County, the Sangiacomo family, with 1,500 acres of grapes, says on average they remove 50 acres (3%) a year of older, lower production vines. That is, there are always some vines being removed as a normal part of being a wine grape grower. Sangiocomo also said the grapes looked great this year, but 10% of their crop went unsold. That 10% number was reported by other Sonoma County growers in the article.

The one potentially good thing for consumers is that wineries that usually used cheaper, less desirable fruit for inexpensive wines could now afford to by grapes from Sonoma County as the prices for unsold fruit dropped. You might be finding some really nice wines in the $15 range from the 2025 vintage!

Info from pressdemocrat.com and farmprogress.com