These days, Americans are drinking less alcohol. While that may be a good thing from a health perspective, it’s not great news for California grape growers. Industry groups predict that 2025 will be the smallest harvest since the mid-’90s. Per-capita wine consumption is down about 12% since 2019, and for the last few years, that decline has translated to thousands of tons of grapes left rotting on the vines.
At Bacigalupi Vineyards in Healdsburg, California, not all of the grapes found a buyer this year. That means they went unpicked. Although harvest wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, some of the grower’s Zinfandel vines were still heavy with fruit — shriveled and moldy after recent rains.
That was a real shame, considering the high quality of the crop, said third-generation grape grower Katey Bacigalupi Row…