04/08/2026
I’ve been thinking a lot about how I spend money over the last couple years. In a practical, what-does-my-dollar-actually-do and what am I supporting kind of way.
Because we’re living in a moment where a lot of us are waking up to the fact that our purchasing decisions are not neutral. Every transaction is a vote for something. Every dollar is a statement about what we want to exist in the world.
Wine is no different.
Independent wine businesses are closing. Not in a slow, gradual way. In a this is actually a crisis way.
In 2025 the US lost roughly one winery every single day. California alone lost 222 commercial wineries in 2024. In Amador County 60% of 2024 grapes went unpicked because there were no buyer contracts. Old vineyards are being torn up to plant other crops. The executive director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission called it “a massacre for all California grape growers” the worst market conditions they have ever seen.
This is happening right now. To real people. To small family farms and two person operations and independent winemakers who spent decades building something honest in a market that’s increasingly not designed for them.
The big players are struggling too but they have the resources to consolidate, cut staff, sell labels, and survive. When the market contracts they absorb the loss and move on. When a two person operation loses 30% of sales they might not make it to the next vintage.
We say we care about small producers. We say we want wine with integrity. And then we reach for the thirteen dollar bottle without thinking twice or posture about winemaking process.
I’m not here to make anyone feel guilty. But the most powerful thing any of us can do right now is be intentional about where our money goes.
Because the alternative is watching it disappear one closure at a time and wondering why nobody did anything.
