TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2024. BY STUART SPENCER, LODI WINEGRAPE COMMISSION.
In the past six years, the federal government has spent over $204 million subsidizing imported wine mostly to the benefit of a few of California’s largest wineries. In the first eight months of 2024 alone, over 24 million gallons of imported bulk wine poured into California. In the past 5 years, 1.3 billion bottles of bulk wine have been imported. This excess wine has flooded the market and driven down demand for California-grown wines and grapes.
Recently, AgAlert asked Stuart Spencer, Executive Director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission, to speak candidly on the current state of the wine and grape industry. Published today, Stuart’s commentary focuses on Duty Drawback – arguably one of the more substantive causes of market downturn. Click HERE to read the article.
The real tragedy is that the U.S. government incentivizes imports through a program called “duty drawback.” The imported bulk wine ends up on American store shelves virtually tax-free, giving it a substantial tax advantage over domestically produced wine.
For further education on the current state of the industry, check out the following posts and video episode:
- Imported Foreign Bulk Wine: The Dirty Secret No One In California Wine Is Talking About. Monday, March 18, 2024. By Stuart Spencer, Executive Director, Lodi Winegrape Commission.
- Wine Duty Drawback – Another Dirty Secret! Monday, August 5, 2024. By Stuart Spencer, Executive Director, Lodi Winegrape Commission.
- California Wineries on Brink of Losing Everything. Saturday, September 28, 2024. California Insider, YouTube.
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