McManis Sale Highlights Pressure on California Wine Sector

McManis Family Vineyards has put its winery and associated vineyards up for sale as economic pressure bears on California producers, according to the report. The family business, founded in 1990, operates in the northern San Joaquin Valley, including Ripon, Clarksburg and Lodi.

Citing the Sacramento Bee, the report says McManis exports to Canada fell from 75,000 cases to 1,000 cases between July 2025 and July 2026. The Wine Institute put California winemakers’ losses from Canada’s ban at $357 million in 2025, with losses continuing this year. UC Davis agricultural and resource economics professor Dan Sumner said Canada had previously been the leading destination for California bottled wine. McManis declined to be interviewed by SFGATE, the report said.

Sumner described the sector as being in a severe downturn and said available data did not show that the decline had ended. Jon Maramarco, managing partner of alcohol industry data firm bw166, said the sector had struggled to replace older core consumers with younger generations. He also pointed to changing household routines and priorities as factors affecting how frequently people drink wine.

Maramarco characterized the market as declining rather than disappearing, with the challenge of building more frequent wine consumption among newer generations. The report also describes Paso Robles’ evolution into a wine and tourism destination, including the growth of boutique wineries, food and entertainment. It offers that regional development as background on the changing wine economy, rather than as evidence of a recovery.