FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The recent rain has not been troublesome for valley winegrape growers.
Jeff Bitter heads Allied Grape Growers, a statewide marketing cooperative representing 500 growers.
“A little bit of a passing storm through April isn’t going to hurt us,” Bitter says.
With demand for wine falling, we’re seeing significant changes impacting local vineyards.
“The last two years, we’ve seen about 40,000 acres in the state pulled out each year, of wine grapes,” he says.
More than half of those acres were in Central California.
“There’s a lot of headwinds in the wine industry right now,” Bitter said.
Bitter cites changing habits among younger drinkers.
“Their consumption of alcohol is definitely at lower levels than in the past,” he says. “It’s been a little bit of an uphill battle to differentiate wine and make sure that the consumer knows that, in moderation, it is healthy for you.”
Bitter says that will be part of a marketing push, but the economy has also hurt the industry.
“Wine isn’t a cheap product to buy,” he says. “Regardless of what price point you’re buying it at, it’s not cheap.”
He adds the wine industry could benefit from tariffs, “One in every three wines consumed in the United States is imported.”
Bitter goes on to say, “It’s hard for us to compete on price. Our costs in California are significantly higher than in most wine-producing countries.”
Just 10% of wines produced in California are exported to other countries.
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