Under the Hood: Diesel, Duties and the Cost of Growing and Making Wine in Napa Valley

Support Independent Local News: Napa Valley Features depends on paid subscriptions to support our local reporting and community information. Now in our fourth year, we are also building new tools and resources at NapaServe.org. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber, renewing or joining as a founding member. We could not do this work without your support. “Run as tight a budget as possible.” — Bo Barrett, Chateau Montelena Subscribe The Spotlight: Welcome to Under the Hood, our exclusive weekly series for Napa Valley Features paid subscribers. Summary of Today’s Article Napa Valley wineries and growers are paying more this year to grow and make wine. California diesel is up 58% from a year ago, two Napa wineries say direct-to-consumer shipping and health insurance costs are climbing, fertilizer remains above last year, and imported barrels, cork and glass carry new duties. Canada, once the largest foreign buyer of U.S. wine, remains mostly closed. Local owners describe a year of tight budgets. Running those reported figures through three hypothetical operations shows a short crop and rising costs squeezing growers hardest, while wineries that buy fruit gain from falling grape prices. Beyond today’s discussion, we’re also digging into the latest results from our reader polls and pulling a few takeaways from our local economic dashboard. Subscribe