Canada was America\u2019s top wine export market, representing 36% and 460 million dollars-worth of all U.S. wine exports in 2024, according to Sacramento-based Wine Institute. In 2025, Wine Institute data shows that exports to Canada fell to 12%, a $357 million loss in export value.<\/p>\n
Two of Canada\u2019s 10 provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, are still selling American alcoholic beverages. Those provinces represent smaller markets compared to those in Canada\u2019s largest provinces, Ontario and Quebec.<\/p>\n
Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada as the \u201c51st state,\u201d angering Canadians and raising tensions between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said last month that he would lift the province\u2019s ban on U.S. alcohol if Trump renewed America\u2019s longstanding trade pact with Canada and Mexico, according to the Toronto Star<\/a>. The trade agreement, known as USMCA, expired this week, but a version of the alliance remains as the Trump administration continues to seek changes.<\/p>\n Delegations from Wine Institute and the Sacramento-based California Association of Winegrape Growers \u2014 two of the industry\u2019s largest lobbying groups<\/a> \u2014 met with members of Congress, including Schiff, in recent months and urged them to prioritize getting American wine back on Canada\u2019s shelves.<\/p>\n Both Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers applauded the recent letters from Congress to Quebec, saying getting American wine back into Canada is crucial to aiding their struggling industry.<\/p>\n \u201cRestoring access is critically important for wineries, growers and the many businesses connected to the wine sector on both sides of the border,\u201d a Wine Institute statement said.<\/p>\n Natalie Collins, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers, referred to what is happening to the wine industry as \u201cdeath by a thousand cuts,\u201d saying the Canada piece is \u201cdefinitely one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have spent decades building relationships (to Canada) with family grapegrowers and winemakers and seeing everything fall apart over no fault of our industry has been devastating,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n Dirk Heuvel has helped run McManis Family Vineyards in Ripon in San Joaquin County since 2008. Canadian exports, largely to Ontario, made up approximately 40% of his family\u2019s export sales \u2014 about 75,000 cases \u2014 leading up to the country\u2019s restrictions on U.S. alcohol. From July 2025 to now, this number fell to approximately 5% of export sales, or about 1,000 cases.<\/p>\n On top of the export hits, the family-owned vineyard has seen a significant drop in its bulk wine sales to larger U.S. wine brands, Heuvel said. The vineyard\u2019s primary business is growing and crushing grapes to produce bulk wine for these buyers, some of which are also managing the Canadian market loss.<\/p>\n Heuvel is grateful for the support from Congress, but he called the letters \u201coverdue.\u201d He is not optimistic the alcohol restrictions will be lifted in time to support growers for the 2026 season based on the current mood of U.S.-Canadian trade negotiations.<\/p>\n While his vineyard has enough bulk wine business to keep it up and running without Canada, Heuvel, who is also a board member of the California Association of Winegrape Growers, said other vintners will not be as fortunate.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there are a lot of wineries that if the Canadian market doesn\u2019t open back up, they flat out will not survive this,\u201d Heuvel said.<\/p>\n This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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