A massive family-owned winery spanning San Joaquin and Sacramento counties is for sale after struggling to survive the Canadian boycott of U.S. alcohol.
McManis Family Vineyards, founded in 1990, is selling 3,500 acres of property, including a winery facility in Ripon and 10 vineyards ranging from Clarksburg to outside Modesto.
It’s the latest loss amid a rocky period for California’s wine industry, which has seen wineries of all sizes lay off employees and shut down facilities to cut costs.
The industry has been hit by weakening demand, a grape oversupply crisis, and a Canadian boycott of American wines triggered by President Trump’s tariffs. Canada is the biggest international consumer of California wines.
“After 25 years of incredible growth for the California wine industry, the last five have been pretty challenging,” said wine industry consultant Dale Stratton, who spent more than 30 years in leadership roles across Gallo Wines and Constellation Brands.
McManis Family Vineyards declined to comment on its decision to sell. Its winery facility and surrounding land is on sale for $22.5 million, according to the real estate listing. The sale prices of the vineyards range from $800,000 to $14 million.
“It was a very hard decision for myself and my family,” said Ron McManis, president and co-owner of the company, in a written statement provided to the Sacramento Bee.
The winery facility has the capacity to crush 50,000 tons of grapes each year and bottle up to 3 million cases of wine. The company’s wine sales have fallen drastically since last summer as exports to Canada fell by about 74,000 cases between July 2025 and July 2026, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Canadian exports used to make up 40% of the company’s export sales, but have fallen to 5%. The vineyard has also seen a drop in its bulk sales to larger U.S. wine brands, which usually make up about 90% of its business.
The Wine Institute, which represents California wineries, said in a report that U.S. wine exports totaled $805 million in 2025, down 35% from 2024.
Boycotts imposed by several Canadian provinces since last March have “erased” roughly $360 million in revenue that the U.S. wine industry would have otherwise earned, according to the report.
“It’s really serious because some companies had a third of their volume, some had over 50% of their volume that was going to Canada,” Stratton said.
The Wine Institute has called on Canada to end the boycotts, contending that they have forced U.S. wine companies to lay off Canadian sales reps and other employees while depriving the Canadian government of millions in tax revenue.
Last month, Trump announced tariffs of up to 50% on Canadian goods and Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of American products.
Though wine was not explicitly mentioned, American alcohol has been the target of boycotts imposed by several Canadian provinces since last March in response to earlier tariffs on Canadian goods by Trump.
Vineyards that haven’t shut down entirely have announced layoffs in recent months.
Signorello Estate — a Napa Valley winery that rebuilt after becoming the poster child of the Atlas fire when its tasting room burned to the ground — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.
Wine behemoth Gallo earlier this year shared plans to lay off more than 90 employees by the end of January 2027 and close a major Napa Valley wine-making facility.
In February, Constellation Brands announced plans to lay off 212 workers at its Mission Bell Winery in Madera. The publicly traded company, which owns Robert Mondavi wines and Modelo and Corona beers, has set a goal of $200 million in cost savings by 2028 and is shifting away from wine to focus more on its growing beer business, its financial filings show.
That month, Santa Rosa-based Foley Family Wines & Spirits wound down operations at its Chalone Vineyard in Monterey and laid off the entire wine-making staff at Chalone.
The wine industry faces challenges beyond Canadian boycotts. Consumer demand is shrinking because boomers — the industry’s biggest fans — are aging out of the wine market. Younger generations drink less alcohol in general and are less likely to choose wine.
“It’s going to be a long haul for us to get back to where we were,” Stratton said.
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