Jessica Mendoza

California wine sales stayed pretty strong through the next couple of decades and hit a peak early in the pandemic, when a lot more people were drinking at home.

But then, after that knockout year of 2021, the buzz faded.

The hangover hit.

It started the following year.

2022 saw Americans buying less wine than in 2021, according to an industry report card.

The demand was shrinking, but the wine supply wasn't.

Vines take years to produce usable fruit, meaning growers often rely on old demand to forecast how much to plant.

In this case, the industry was gearing up for a boom that was already over.

Why did wind demand start falling off?

Science has changed a lot since 60 Minutes aired that segment on the French paradox.

Research now points in the opposite direction.

Even moderate alcohol consumption is a health risk.

And then, this year, more problems.

In response to U.S.

tariffs and President Trump's comments towards Canada, sellers there pulled American booze off the shelves.

That was a big blow to growers because Canada is the California wine industry's most lucrative export market.

U.S.

wine exports to Canada dropped 96% in the second quarter of this year, which really hurt farmers.

Farmers like John Belletto, who we heard from earlier.

After the break, the drastic measures farmers are taking to save themselves.