California Makes World-Class Wines, but Industry Pressures Are Leaving Grapes to Die

A global downturn in the wine industry, cheap imports, and higher costs are hitting family farmers in California especially hard.

Farmer Garret Schaefer looks over a spoiled wine vineyard in Lodi, Calif., on Dec. 13, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

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California Makes World-Class Wines, but Industry Pressures Are Leaving Grapes to Die

A global downturn in the wine industry, cheap imports, and higher costs are hitting family farmers in California especially hard.

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By Beige Luciano-Adams

December 29, 2024Updated:January 07, 2025

LODI, Calif.—On a foggy December morning, a drive through the dense grid of vineyards surrounding Lodi in Northern California offers a haunting sight: In every direction, acres of withering, mottled grape clusters hanging on leafless vines.

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California Makes World-Class Wines, but Industry Pressures Are Leaving Grapes to Die

California Makes World-Class Wines, but Industry Pressures Are Leaving Grapes to Die

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