BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The grapes are growing. The vines are healthy. But across Kern County, thousands of acres of wine-grape vineyards are being torn out anyway.
County crop reports show wine-grape acreage has fallen from 25,250 acres in 2020 to 18,900 acres in 2024. Local growers say oversupply, weakening consumer demand and rising production costs are forcing the removals — regardless of how good the crop looks.
Farm manager Margaux Hein, who oversees approximately 7,800 acres of permanent crops across five counties in the Central Valley, said the industry is dealing with a difficult combination of oversupply and weakening demand.
"As soon as you see a tank in demand, people start, stop drinking it, then when you realize that you have all this overplanted acreage that can't keep up, then something has to give," Hein said.
Hein said the pullback is not driven by any single factor. Rising costs for labor, fertilizer, water and insurance are compounding the pressure on growers. For those without a secure contract or an established buyer, a healthy crop does not always translate to a profitable one.
"At the point that you can't find a home to sell your grapes, or the pricing that you're getting for your grapes at the end of the season is lower than your input cost, it causes you to force the decision and to make the decision of ripping them out," Hein said.
The effects of the shifting market are also visible at the retail level. At Imbibe Wine in Bakersfield, owner and founder David Dobbs said his customer count has remained steady, but what those customers are spending has changed.
"In the last 18 months or so, there's definitely a downturn in wine consumption… Our customer count stays up, but our sales are definitely down a little bit," Dobbs said.
Dobbs said the oversupply of wine grapes traces back to a period of high demand roughly a decade ago, when widespread planting eventually outpaced the market. He also pointed to shifting habits among younger consumers as a contributing factor. He explains how he believes Gen Z to be a healthier generation, steering away from alcohol and toward cannabis.
Those working in the wine industry say wine grapes, like many agricultural commodities, move in cycles. They are watching whether changing consumer habits can help drive demand back up.
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