Silicon Valley Bank wine report

Wine: Good News ~ Bad News

“The industry has reached the point of acute oversupply due to diminishing volumes sold. That will lead to vineyard removals — and fallowing in some cases — and reduced returns for growers.”

When I moved to Sonoma County in 1995, it seemed every bare patch of ground — and acres formerly planted with apples, hops and other crops — was being planted with new vineyards; until 2008, that is. The wine business recovered from the recession, but is now facing another downturn.

In its annual report on the wine business, Silicon Valley Bank stated that the industry is “in the midst of a consumer reset.”