Withering Vines: California Grape Farmers Abandon Fields As Local Wine Struggles

Source: International Business Times

Wine grapes rot on the vine at an abandoned Central Valley wine grape vineyard in Lodi, California, where farmers are turning to alternate crops due to falling demand AFP For more than a century, Lodi's grape growers have supplied the old wineries that make this Californian city famous. But rocketing costs, falling demand and competition from imports mean some are now abandoning their vineyards. Randy Baranek, whose family has farmed these hillsides for generations, said thousands of acres (hectares) of vines -- a quarter of Lodi's production -- have been removed in the last two years.