FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The recent rain has not been troublesome for valley winegrape growers.<\/p>\n
Jeff Bitter heads Allied Grape Growers, a statewide marketing cooperative representing 500 growers.<\/p>\n
“A little bit of a passing storm through April isn’t going to hurt us,” Bitter says.<\/p>\n
With demand for wine falling, we’re seeing significant changes impacting local vineyards.<\/p>\n
“The last two years, we’ve seen about 40,000 acres in the state pulled out each year, of wine grapes,” he says.<\/p>\n
More than half of those acres were in Central California.<\/p>\n
“There’s a lot of headwinds in the wine industry right now,” Bitter said.<\/p>\n
Bitter cites changing habits among younger drinkers.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Bitter says that will be part of a marketing push, but the economy has also hurt the industry.<\/p>\n
“Wine isn’t a cheap product to buy,” he says. “Regardless of what price point you’re buying it at, it’s not cheap.”<\/p>\n
He adds the wine industry could benefit from tariffs, “One in every three wines consumed in the United States is imported.”<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
Just 10% of wines produced in California are exported to other countries.<\/p>\n
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