California wineries are now BURNING their vineyards after slump in sales caused by healthy living and switch to trendy drinks like spiked seltzer

Published: 20:55, 30 July 2026 | Updated: 20:58, 30 July 2026 Many Californian wineries have burned their vineyards following extremely low sale margins caused by healthy living and shifting popularity. Valley Farm Management CEO, Jason Smith, 57, revealed he set fire to one of his pinot vineyards after deciding to sell his land and shut down his business after 51 years. 'There's literally no way for me to make money,' Smith told the New York Times.  Winemakers in California, a state known for its viticulture, produced less wine last year than any point in the last 25 years. It is often cheaper to let grapes rot on the vine rather than harvest them. Smith took over Valley Farm Management and Paraiso Family Vineyards from his father Rich Smith, who died in 2015. Rich was a pioneer of the Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association, purchasing his first 350 acres of vineyard land in 1987.  California wineries have resorted to burning their vineyards after low sales caused by healthy living and a switch to trendy drinks like spiked seltzer Valley Farm Management CEO, Jason Smith, 57, recounted setting fire to one of his pinot vineyards. He decided to sell all of his land and shut down his business which had been going for 51 years Winemakers in California produced less wine last year than any point in the last 25 years. It is often cheaper to let grapes rot on the vine than harvesting them and letting them take up space Edible Monterey Bay announced Smith's decision to shut down the operation and end his involvement in grape farming in the fall of 2025. 'We've gone from 3,000 acres of grapes to just 160,' he said. 'And by January 1, 2026, that acreage will be zero.' The decision came from an increasingly high cost of farming combined with the continued decline of the grape market. 'I kept looking at the numbers and trying to make them pencil out, but the fact I had so little collateral to go to the bank with for a loan on my up-front farming costs, just wasn't viable,' he told the outlet.  Smith said he felt tremendous grief about the decision to sell his land and company and that he felt ashamed that he was letting down his father. Regardless, he still thinks it was the smartest path. On the day he burned his pinot vineyard, he drove past a neighboring one that was also tearing out all its grapes. Nationwide, wine sales are at their lowest level in more than two decades. Fewer people drink wine with growing public health warnings and shifting trends for younger drinkers who often prefer canned cocktails, seltzers and spirits. Although Smith felt tremendous grief about the decision to sell his father's land and company, he thinks it was the smartest path According to industry estimates, 2025 saw as high as 800,000 tons of grapes unpicked, with only 7% of planted grapes in California pulled  Owners of bars and bottle shops in California said that younger consumers have increasingly asked about nonalcoholic options and speculated that winemakers had lost business due to the popularity of cannabis.  The slump in particular hit red wines, with 2025 being the first time in decades that winemakers in the state produced less red wine than white wine. According to the California Association of Winegrape Growers, 2025 saw as high as 800,000 tons of grapes unpicked statewide. Smith sold his vineyard to Jackson Family Wines, which owns more than two dozen California wine labels. He is selling equipment for cash.  He is hoping to completely close his business in the next few months. 'This is all I've done my whole life,' Smith said. 'I'm going to have to find a new career.'