Many California growers can’t find buyers as the industry produces more wine grapes than the market wants. Wine consumption is declining globally as people drink less.
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. The decline is forcing some growers to tear out vineyards that their families have grown for generations.
Wine sales have decreased by more than 20% over a five-year period, causing prices paid for grapes to drop and prompting California growers to take roughly a quarter of the state’s vineyards out of production. Many growers are having to decide whether to harvest at a loss, leave grapes on the vine or replace vineyards with crops more in demand such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios and olives.
Third-generation grower Bill Berryhill said it means another year of losing money and wasting hundreds of tons of healthy grapes.
Uh sure, it was the tariffs, and not the widespread Canadian boycott of American alcohol.
Wasn’t the boycott because of the tariffs?
That was one factor. It is more about the general hostility and aggression the US has shown toward Canada.
But you guys started it! What? You guys didn’t do anything wrong? What? Your nation is a stalwart ally, possibly holding the other half of our bff necklace? Well what about that war a long time ago? What? We tried to invade you and you even supported our stupid wars later on?
Well shit, I’ve got nothing.
Also because the US Government is trying to destroy our country by any means. They still threaten to annex Canada, call our Prime Minister “Governor”, claim Canada isn’t a real country, interfere with our politics and elections, support Alberta and Quebec separatists, and do their best to crush our economy. Then they whine that we’re being mean to them. It doesn’t make us very inclined to send our money to the USA, especially when we can just buy Canadian wine instead.
Ok, but the US has been doing that since the 1950s.
I’m getting downvoted by children who don’t know how Deifenbaker shut down Canadian military aviation because he was told to by Eisenhower, and then how Mulroney sold off all public assets cheap.
Perhaps, but in their wisdom Trump and his people draw attention to it daily, and they’ve successfully angered Canadians and undermined their own markets by doing so.
The boycott was because of a threat to annex Canada, repeatedly by the US Ambassador Hoeskra, who is an even bigger asshole than Trump, if that were even possible.
No. It’s because of the annexation threats.
It was because of the bullying
I picked up a bag of grapes in the store on the weekend. Product of the USA, nope. We avoid USA products as much as possible. Sorry to the good Americans.
Nah, you’re fine. Most American farmers voted for Trump anyway.
And how many American farmers do u know? Not a one around me would dare vote against their own interests LOL.
I know a few, they don’t even belive in climate change. (More specifically, that we’re responsible and can do something about it.)
To be fair, I only know about 3, but statistically speaking, rural areas in America tend to lean heavilly Republican.
No need to apologize. The whole American farming industry needs a redo anyway.
Yeah but you (and the farmers) aren’t going to like the redo.
Massive agri-corps have been busily buying up agricultural land as the Tangerine Tyrant’s policies send farmers bankrupt. Gates and Ellison are two of those behind it.
Yeah it seems like something serious is happening, and I only learned about his behind the scenes actions in the last few years. I don’t trust Gates one bit with anti-trust lawsuits becoming part of the cost of business.
Granted this is encouraging me and my family to get back into gardening/farming and things like having chickens.
Agribusiness can get fucked. And farmers too. We need to decentralize ag like, yesterday
wine grapes are different varieties than eating grapes. Just like cider apples.
But USA does not need Canada! It’s just money! US doesn’t care about money!
Warms your heart to see
Well, I think it was our tariffs that contributed to the Canadian tariffs and also contributed to anti-US sentiment, so it’s sort of truthy. heh
Trump implemented tarrifs the last time he was President as well, the difference being that he wasn’t (at least openly) doing it to try to annex our country. This time it is very much that, to the point that accepting the last trade deal would have made us a de facto protectorate of the United States.
But in 2016 the tariffs were gone by 2017 because of the damage to the US economy. The difference in 2026 is Trump DGAF about the US economy.