MENDOCINO COUNTY, 5/7/25 — Few things seem more domestic than Mendocino County’s breweries and wineries, but being local doesn’t confer immunity from the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
On the contrary, from corks to glass, and from hops to barrels, these local businesses depend on foreign suppliers for an enormous amount of the raw material, equipment and packing materials they use in their businesses.
“Uncertainty is the most damaging threat,” said Jennifer Owen, chief executive officer of North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg. “We can’t budget, we’re nervous about starting new projects, and we don’t know if or when we might have to consider price increases to pass along price increases we receive.”
At Tall Guy Brewery in the heart of Fort Bragg’s historic district, co-owner Lisa Broderick worries about the effect of tariffs on the German hops she imports for their German-style beers. And that concern is compounded by the fear that difficult economic conditions may hurt the tourist business Tall Guy depends upon.
“Summer will show,” Broderick said.
Anderson Valley is dotted with family-owned-and-operated wineries. One of them is Foursight Wines in Boonville, co-owned by Kristy Charles.
“The wine business will be heavily affected,” said Charles, whose business began in 2006. “Our traditional materials come from around the world. Corks that we use are from Spain and Portugal. The glass for bottles is from China. The metal foil found on the necks of wine bottles is from France.”
None of these materials can be easily replaced.
The United States does not have a significant natural cork industry. While some companies that import cork bark finish their processing domestically, the raw material still originates in Portugal and Spain. These countries have a long tradition and specialized infrastructure for cork harvesting and processing.
Portugal, with Spain a close second, is the largest producer of cork in the world, thanks to their immense cork oak forests. Portugal’s cork harvesting and processing are among the most ecologically and economically significant ecosystems in Europe.
Meanwhile, the French-produced metal capsules, sometimes called foil, help protect the cork, reduce evaporation, and deter rodents or insects.
Charles added that a lot of equipment used in winemaking comes from Europe.
“Our old Spanish Basket press and parts to repair and fix it are shipped from Spain and are not made here,” she said. “With the tariffs’ impacts, we are just holding our breath.”
Northwestern Mendocino County, along the edge of the Pacific Ocean and in view of a landscape of rolling hills, is the home of Pacific Star Winery. Co-owner Sally Socean is not pleased with the uncertainty of rising tariffs.
“I have been in this business for forty years and watched the ups and downs, and prices will go up. I won’t raise my prices,” Socean said. “Most of my customers are travelers to here and won’t spend extra on a bottle of wine. I will absorb the additional costs, and I won’t be happy.
“Barrels, new hoses, filter pads — everything I need to replace before harvest time will cost more,” Socean added. “Many people do not know that wine production requires a lot of capital. It sounds sexy to do but is a large investment.”
Indeed, the wine industry requires significant up-front and ongoing investments. There are long timelines, and costs of equipment continue to rise, including irrigation supplies, fermentation tanks, crush pads and other specialized production equipment. Capital is tied up for months or years when wine is aging and not generating revenue.
In a live town hall featuring small business owners in late April, Gov. Gavin Newsom was blunt about the impact of tariffs, real and threatened.
“There is no state in the nation that is more impacted by uncertainty and these tariffs imposed unilaterally by Donald Trump and the Trump administration,” he said. “The impacts of that, of course, are felt by small businesses, medium-sized, large businesses, consumers, as well as supply chains, not just in our state, but all across this country and around the world.”
And in Mendocino County, North Coast Brewing’s Jennifer Owen noted the tariff problem is really just the second part of a double whammy.
“[We] have already struggled to recover from Covid cost increases and supply chain uncertainties,” she said, “so the turmoil created by the administration is highly unwelcome.”
To correct a little typo: we’re “…nervous about launching new products….” . Thanks for asking about this!
No time like the present to start digging deep and using some ingenuity coming up with better ways to skin the proverbial cat. I cant feel sorry for any business that sells alcohol.
The end.