Growers scrap vineyards as market dims
A once-in-a-generation downturn in the wine market is reshaping California’s grape-growing regions as farmers tear out vines to rebalance supply with declining demand. Throughout this winter, bulldozers plowed through Lodi’s wine country, leveling vineyards and piling vines in mangled heaps on either side of Highway 99 in San Joaquin County. Thousands of acres in the region have been removed or are slated for removal, according to an ongoing survey of its members by the Lodi District Grape Growers Association.