Most casual wine consumers, those who purchase a bottle now and then, consume a glass or two and keep the remainder in the refrigerator for days, may not be aware of some of the troubles the industry is facing.

It starts with the fact that since 2020, about the time that COVID-19 had such a devastating impact on the world, a lot has happened to negatively impact sales of wine throughout the United States.

And as devastating as it has been for the California wine industry, the news ahead looks just about as gloomy. Some consumers may actually benefit from this as a few wines are discounted, but even their losses are mounting.

It all began with an actual wine sales boom during the pandemic as many residents, who took refuge in their homes, took advantage of wine stores that began making deliveries. Retail sales rose for a year before stabilizing.

But the message was false. Hidden behind this was a growing neo-prohibitionist movement that put out a message that even one sip of wine could be damaging to adults' health. The evidence was controversial, but it caused a wine sales slowdown.

This prompted weakness in the entire wine business, including dozens of wineries in California, wholesale companies, retail and restaurant enterprises and impacted consumers in several different ways.

As wine backed up on store shelves and in the distribution system, some wine intended for early consumption actually declined in quality. Some consumers were disappointed with the quality they were finding.

Import companies faced a worse scenario based on tariffs imposed on wines from several countries. Not only were importers required to pay additional sums at the point of entry, but importers had no idea what the tariff fees would be because of radically changing rules.

As the imports were costing more to bring into the United States, not only did importers have to raise prices, but retail stores did as well to account for their slower sales.

Meanwhile, the California wine industry began hearing from vineyard experts that the state had too many grapes. The industry was told to remove 100,000 of its 550,000 acres, an expensive activity that produced no revenue. Within the last two years, about 50,000 acres have been removed. But experts say more needs to come out.

Meanwhile, a new scourge is on the rise. It is a grapevine virus called Red Blotch. It is spread by a bug called an alfalfa hopper and it reduces sugar development in grapes and leads to a decline in flavors.

The worst of it is that the only "cure" is to remove the affected plants and replant, which is doubly costly.

And then there is El Nino. It has not yet impacted California, but it is a weather condition initiated by higher ocean surface temperatures. It traditionally brings extremely heavy rains. Weather experts expect it to impact California soon.

In years past, the grapevines during heavy rains are hibernating, so no long-term damage is expected. But during previous El Nino episodes, several growers ended up losing uprooted vines. This adds to the cost of doing business.

At the same time, the number of wholesale companies now operating in the country has declined due to weak sales and several import companies have gone out of business. So some favored brands are now nearly impossible to get.

To find out more about Sonoma County resident Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Daniel Stiel at Unsplash