1863 Edward Bryant home at Harris Vineyards, Clements Hills-Lodi AVA.
Since the start of the year (2024) the media has besieged wine consumers with bad news about the state of wine in America. American wine consumption is down, at least in terms of per capita and total gallons.
According to Wine Institute’s most recent figures: In 2022 Americans consumed 2.86 gallons of wine per capita (the lowest amount since 2015’s 2.85 gallons). Total wine gallons consumed by Americans in 2022 was 964 million, the lowest since 2015’s 915 million gallons.
These figures hits home here in Lodi because this is by far the largest wine grape growing region in the country.
Walk into any grocery store or big box liquor outlet in the country. You know where most of the wine on store shelves comes from? According to recent reports from Dr. Liz Thach MW, 76% of wine sales in the U.S. are domestic products; out of that, approximately 81% is grown and produced in California (Wine Institute).
And Lodi, according to the latest annual USDA California Grape Crush Report, grows approximately 20% of all wines produced in California. This means more than one out of every 10 bottles sold in the U.S. is grown in Lodi. The grape and wine industry is indeed a bigger deal in Lodi than anywhere else in the country.
Another old vine Zinfandel in Lodi being uprooted.
However, because of the current overall market imbalance, California is over-planted with wine grapes. Therefore,
