California in crisis: Overproduction, market slump and tariff trouble

The faint smell of smoke in the air is all too familiar to those living in California’s wine regions, but lately the source will have been a vine pull rather than a wildfire, as producers grapple with a crisis being described as a reset. As the world’s fourth largest wine producer – after Italy, France and Spain – the Golden State accounts for more than 80% of US wine output and 95% of exports, with vines covering almost 250,000ha. The California Wine Institute estimates the industry generates $73bn (£55bn), employing 422,000 people.