Wineries face challenges amid declining wine demand
As harvest season arrives in Northern California
By Maricela De La Cruz
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LODI, California (KCRA) — As harvest season arrives in Northern California, wineries in Lodi are facing significant challenges due to declining wine demand and oversupply.
It’s pushing farmers to downsize vineyards and explore new strategies.
“If you kind of look at the overall state of the wine and grape industry, you know it’s very challenging times right now,” said Stuart Spencer from the Lodi Winegrape Commission. “We’re looking at the third year of kind of declining sales globally, and it’s had a big impact on local growers and vintners as we really fight to maintain market share in a very challenging market.”
Kyle Lerner of Harney Lane Vineyards noted the pressure felt across the district.
“We do sell wine grapes to other wineries throughout the region and country, and we have seen a little bit of a slight downturn of wine grape purchases,” Lerner said. “Yeah, it’s impacting everyone in the district. I don’t think there’s anyone that hasn’t felt a little bit of that pressure.”
With alcohol consumption at a 30-year low, some farmers are making tough decisions.
Lodi farmer Garret Schaefer began downsizing his vineyards last year and plans to continue.
“Two years ago, we had 180 acres of grapes that we farmed and we harvested everything. Last year, we left about 50 acres worth of grapes unharvested. This year, we’re on track to probably only harvest maybe 50 acres out of 150 acres,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer also highlighted the rising costs.
“The cost of water, fertilizer, and labor. We used to have six to seven full-time employees when we were farming the whole 180 acres, and now we’re down to just one person and myself,” he said.
Beyond local challenges, global oversupply is adding pressure.
“There is a flood of cheap imports coming in that is undercutting a lot of California farmers and so, we need some fixes on that. Our largest wineries have stopped buying a lot of local grapes at the same level, and so, growers are having to shift to other crops,” Spencer said.
Despite these setbacks, there are glimmers of hope.
“We’ve actually seen visitation fairly stable over the past couple of years, which has been a blessing for us,” Lerner said.
After a challenging year in which unsold grapes were left to wither on the vine, Bokisch Vineyards reports a more promising harvest season in 2025. The winery, located alongside 85 acres of estate vineyards and additional properties, has successfully sold all of its fruit this year.
While Bokisch has avoided the fate of other farmers this year, it’s coming with the challenging market prices that continue to pressure small and mid-sized producers.
“We have all our fruit sold this year,” said Markus Bokisch of Bokisch Vineyards. “But pricing is not sustainable.”
The Lodi wine region is estimated to have about 85,000 acres of wine grapes, but over the past few years, the Lodi Winegrape Commission estimates that farmers have removed between 15,000 and 20,000 acres.
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