California wine giant Gallo is laying off more than 90 employees and closing a major Napa Valley wine-making facility.<\/p>\n
The Modesto company said Thursday the cuts are necessary to adapt to market dynamics and changing customer demands.<\/p>\n
In total, 93 employees across five sites will lose their jobs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice the company filed with the state last week.<\/p>\n
The \u201coperational adjustments\u201d will not \u201cmaterially impact\u201d the company\u2019s tasting rooms in Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles, a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. <\/p>\n
Gallo plans to permanently close its Ranch Winery in St. Helena. In 2015, the company bought<\/a> the \u201ccustom crush winery\u201d capable of crushing 30,000 tons of grapes, hoping to bolster its presence in the super-premium and luxury wine segment. That investment has not panned out. <\/p>\n The closure means 56 employees \u2014 including more than three dozen wine technicians \u2014 will lose their jobs between April 15 and the end of January 2027, according to the notice.<\/p>\n Layoffs are also planned at Louis M. Martini Winery and Orin Swift Tasting Room in St. Helena and J Vineyards & Winery and Frei Ranch in Healdsburg.<\/p>\n In 2025, Gallo closed its Courtside Cellars winery in San Miguel and laid off 47 workers, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n The layoffs are indicative of the U.S. wine industry\u2019s broader struggles amid shifting tastes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Customers are choosing quality, not quantity: they would rather buy fewer bottles and invest in a premium product, said Rob McMillan, Silicon Valley Bank\u2019s executive vice president and wine expert. <\/p>\n Many of Gallo\u2019s wines fall into the sub-$12 category, which has performed poorly for the last decade, McMillan said. <\/p>\n With younger generations drinking less, and the baby boomer generation \u2014 the industry\u2019s core base \u2014 aging out of the wine market, it\u2019s been a challenging few years for the industry, which has also had to fend off competition from makers of premium beers and spirits, McMillan said.<\/p>\n