California’s smallest winegrape crush since 1999

March 13, 2026 — The California Department of Food & Agriculture’s Preliminary Grape Crush Report for 2025 was released today, March 13th. The winegrape crush of 2,623,443 tons was down 8.4% versus 2.866 million tons in 2024 and the smallest since 2.617 million tons in 1999, but above the Ciatti Company’s guesstimate of 2.4 million tons.

The final tonnage, although lighter than 2024, was perhaps slightly higher than many expected. This may be an indication that yields were larger than anticipated, as there was a significant portion of unpicked grapes.

Some observations:

• The harvest in District 4 (Napa) was down overall by 2.2%, with Cabernet Sauvignon down slightly by 1.4%.
• Cabernet production was down 4.8%, with a total of 432,666 tons in 2025 versus 454,606 tons in 2024.
• Chardonnay production was down 7%, totaling 491,036 tons versus 527,798 tons in 2024.
• Pinot Noir production was down 12.9%, totaling 189,842 tons versus 218,022 tons in 2024.
• Pinot Grigio (+4.2% to 198,619 tons) and Sauvignon Blanc (+16.1% to 160,962 tons) were the only major varieties to see larger production than in 2024.
• The harvest in District 8, Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo counties (which includes Paso Robles), was up 4.5%, largely due to Cabernet Sauvignon increasing 12.7% from 2024.
• In the Interior, the harvest in Lodi District 11 was down overall by 11.2%.

The full preliminary crush report can be found here.

The Ciatti California Report for April will dive deeper into the results. Our March report can be found here.