{"id":474008,"date":"2026-09-24T08:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T08:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/474008\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T08:16:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T08:16:13","slug":"california-wineries-struggle-amid-trade-war-and-shifting-consumer-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/474008\/","title":{"rendered":"California wineries struggle amid trade war and shifting consumer trends"},"content":{"rendered":"

California wineries struggle amid trade war and shifting consumer trends<\/p>\n

\"Kurtis<\/a>\"David<\/p>\n

California’s wine industry, a cornerstone of the state’s agricultural economy, is facing significant challenges due to a trade war with Canada, changing consumer habits, and financial struggles. <\/p>\n

The Wine Institute, which represents California wineries, reported a 78% drop in wine exports to Canada between 2024 and 2025, following a year-long boycott of U.S. alcohol by Canada in response to the trade war. <\/p>\n

The Wine Institute previously warned that the livelihoods of wineries depend on open trade with Canada. Since then, the industry has experienced layoffs and closures. <\/p>\n

“It’s not just a tariff on California wine. It’s a complete removal of California wines from the shelves,” said Stuart Spencer, Executive Director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission. <\/p>\n

The McManis family, which operates vineyards across Sacramento and San Joaquin counties, recently put its winery and approximately 3,500 acres on the market. Gundlach Bundschu, one of California’s oldest wineries, located in Sonoma and established in 1858, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Additionally, the Chalone Vineyard in Monterey has closed. <\/p>\n

The industry is also grappling with changing consumer habits. Baby boomers, who have traditionally been a key demographic for wine consumption, are aging out of the market, while younger generations are drinking less wine and opting for other alcoholic beverages. <\/p>\n

“You’re gonna see some people quietly quitting, which they’re just gonna be closing their doors and shutting down,” Spencer said. “Probably on the smaller side. But you’re going to see more consolidation. You’re going to see all sorts of things, maneuvering, as the industry adjusts to a smaller market.”<\/p>\n

California is home to 4,800 wineries and 5,900 grape growers, supporting 422,000 jobs and generating $73 billion in economic activity annually. The industry also contributes $7.9 billion in taxes. <\/p>\n

The Wine Institute and others in the industry are advocating for an end to the trade war. According to a Politico poll, the majority of Americans oppose the U.S. tariffs on Canada. Politico is among the news organizations recently removed from the White House grounds by the president, who has accused the outlet of unfair coverage. <\/p>\n

This story was featured as part of our new California Tonight show. It airs Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m. Watch on KCRA and KSBW. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California wineries struggle amid trade war and shifting consumer trends California’s wine industry, a cornerstone of the state’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[185640,7,1369,9,8,186440,176252,186444,133501,186448,116490,186442,186445,10007,357,13722,186443,22402,186447,186441,49914,155329,186446],"class_list":["post-474008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-baby-boomers","tag-california","tag-california-agriculture","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-california-wineries","tag-canada-tariffs","tag-chalone-vineyard","tag-chapter-11-bankruptcy","tag-consumer-trends","tag-grape-growers","tag-gundlach-bundschu","tag-mcmanis-family","tag-monterey","tag-sacramento-county","tag-san-joaquin-county","tag-sonoma-winery","tag-trade-war","tag-wine-closures","tag-wine-exports","tag-wine-industry","tag-wine-institute","tag-wine-layoffs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}