photo credit: Shandra Back/KRCB
Sen. Adam Schiff tours Serres Ranch Oct. 19, 2026.
This week U.S. Senator Adam Schiff visited Sonoma County after meeting with Canadian officials about the fallout from tariffs that have fueled a boycott of U.S. wine in much of Canada.
Schiff said Sonoma County wine growers are already facing huge challenges, and losing sales to Canada, which was California wine’s largest foreign market, is just adding to what he calls a “crisis point.”
“It went from a multi-million dollar business to zero overnight,” Schiff said.
A year after Canadian provinces began taking U.S. wine off store shelves in response to tariffs, the Wine Institute estimates U.S. wine exports to Canada have dropped 78%.
The loss of that major export market comes as growers are already dealing with unprecedented challenges. Dayna Ghirardelli, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, says it all stacks up.
“Obviously for California and Sonoma County wine into Canada is very important and it has been troublesome for our industry among other things that has made it kind of the perfect storm for vineyard industry and wine growing industry,” Ghirardelli said.
Schiff said during his recent visit to Canada, he saw the effects of the cold-shoulder to U.S. wine.
“In Alberta where there’s not a boycott, some of the liquor stores nonetheless have signs that say if you’re looking for an alternative to a California cab, consider this other wine or if you’re looking for an alternative to this Merlot then consider these other growers in other places or a Canadian product,” Schiff said.
Schiff said if Canadians get too used to buying wine from other countries, the question is, when the trade dispute ends, how can we get them back?
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