"Since 2017, he has owned 10 acres of Evangelho, leasing the remaining 23 acres from PG&E. Rooted beneath a cat's cradle of power lines, the 135-year-old vineyard owes its survival in part to the utility company, which is prohibited from developing the land. The reality is that the economics of farming a vineyard are so tough that not a lot of people can do it, Twain-Peterson said."
"All the old vineyards in Contra Costa County are essentially for sale you just need to ask, Twain-Peterson said. If you own a 20-acre mom-and-pop vineyard, and someone offers to buy it for $250,000 an acre, you're going to sell it especially if your kids have no interest in farming. Twain-Peterson estimates that as much as 95% of the agricultural land in Antioch and the neighboring city of Oakley has disappeared over the past few decades."
Twenty acres of century-old grapevines in Antioch were removed after a parcel sale, signaling rapid vineyard loss in Contra Costa County. Historic vineyard parcels often change hands and face strong development offers that small owners frequently accept. Commuter growth and expanded transit to Antioch have increased housing demand, turning farmland into bedroom communities. The economics of standalone vineyard farming are difficult, prompting leasing arrangements and reliance on undevelopable utility-owned land to preserve some old vines. Large shares of agricultural land in Antioch and neighboring Oakley have vanished over recent decades.
Read at www.pressdemocrat.com
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