""I've been farming grapes since I was 18 and this is the worst year I've ever seen,""
""I have beautiful fruit just hanging on the vine and I can't sell it. I had prospective buyers, but they all went silent.""
""We knew this was going to be a pretty painful harvest for most growers ... We just didn't know how bad it was going to hurt,""
""A lot of buyers asked to be let out of their contracts for fear of being unable to pay for the grapes.""
A multigenerational Healdsburg winegrower is leaving farming after a catastrophic harvest that left fruit unsold and buyers silent. Many growers face similar losses as wine producers scale back production amid a sluggish market. Industry analysis predicts 2025 could yield California's smallest grape crush in 30 years, with nearly a half-million tons possibly going uncrushed. Buyers have sought to be released from contracts over fears of nonpayment. Long-term buyers have canceled contracts, and some growers are removing vines or abandoning blocks because farming costs and insurance exceed expected returns.
Read at The Mercury News
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