California’s wine industry leery of tariffs, but some growers hope they help

Описание: (19 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lodi, California - 18 March 2025
1. Wine poured into glass in tasting room of Lodi Wine Visitor Center
2. Craig Ledbetter looks at wine made with grapes grown by his company
3. Close-up of wine made with grapes grown by his company
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Craig Ledbetter, wine grape grower, Vino Farms:
"We sell grapes to roughly 200, 210 wineries throughout the state of California throughout all the different regions."
5. Drone video of Oak Farm Vineyards ++MUTE++
6. Walking shot of vineyards before grapes have grown
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Craig Ledbetter, wine grape grower, Vino Farms:
"Trump had made a decision that he wanted, and ran on this, that he wanted to protect American companies and especially American agriculture. And American agriculture is not playing on an equal playing field when we look at some of the the countries that we're competing against."
8. Various drone video of Oak Farm Vineyards
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Craig Ledbetter, wine grape grower, Vino Farms:
"And so every country that has wine wants to be in the United States of America. And so what he's trying to do, in my opinion, is equal that playing field by really charging the same tariffs that we're charged when our wine goes into those other countries."
10. Various of locally made wine in tasting room of Lodi Wine Visitor Center
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Craig Ledbetter, wine grape grower, Vino Farms:
"When you go to countries in Europe, you don't see California wine on their shelf or in their restaurants. Yet when you come to the United States and you go out to eat here in California or New York or wherever you're at, you see imported wine on the wine list."
12. Various of Ledbetter looking at wine in tasting room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Craig Ledbetter, wine grape grower, Vino Farms:
"If we're able to put wine on the shelf, that is the same price and of equal quality, you would hope and think that our American buyers would choose to buy an American product, especially when it comes to food."
14. Various of Ledbetter in demonstration vineyard outside Lodi Wine Visitor Center
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Craig Ledbetter, wine grape grower, Vino Farms:
"Yeah, that could be a concern that we're worried about other countries retaliating with tariffs on our wine. But our wine for the most part is already tariffed at a higher percentage than wines that come into here."
16. Ledbetter in demonstration vineyard outside Lodi Wine Visitor Center
17. Wine grape sign in vineyard
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Craig Ledbetter, wine grape grower, Vino Farms:
"Globally the entire wine industry is struggling. This is not something that is just isolated to California or American wine. This is a global situation. And it's been a it's a slowdown in consumption. There's a lot of health things that are said out there today that, you know, may or may not be true."
19. Drone video of Oak Farm Vineyards ++MUTE++
STORYLINE:
Escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and Europe are being closely watched in California’s iconic wine industry, which is already struggling due to declining global wine consumption, rising costs and swings in weather.

Many fear tariffs will hike the costs of wine-making materials and dampen U.S. importers of European wines. The Wine Institute, which advocates for California wineries, said the tariffs will "hurt the broader wine sector including farmers, vintners, distributors, retailers and the millions of people working across the extended wine supply chain.”

But some winegrape growers in the Golden State are hoping for a silver lining.


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