Though the tariffs on U.S. wines were lifted on Sept. 1, most Canadian provinces have not yet returned American wines to store shelves, leaving California producers still locked out of their largest export market.

LODI, United States, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Han Han, director of winemaking at Bear Creek Winery in Lodi, California, was shocked when he saw news footage showing the company's wines being pulled from store shelves in Canada.

"Why us?" he asked, expressing the frustration and helplessness shared by many wine producers across California's Central Valley and the whole state.

According to the 2024 "California Wine Export Program" member packet, Canada ranks as the top market by value for California wines.

"I am following news now more than I ever have in my life," Han told Xinhua on Saturday. "But a lot of this stuff is out of our control. We hope things are resolved and move forward."

Earlier this year, the U.S. administration announced a 25 percent additional tariff on imports from Canada, prompting Canada to retaliate with duties on a range of U.S. goods.

Though the tariffs on U.S. wines were lifted on Sept. 1, most Canadian provinces have not yet returned American wines to store shelves, leaving California producers still locked out of their largest export market.

"In Canada, they are affecting our sales dramatically," said Joan Kautz, who oversees global sales and marketing for Kautz Family Vineyards, which owns and operates Bear Creek Winery in Lodi, a major wine-producing region in the Central Valley.

"We have had many requests asking how they can find our wines, but unfortunately, there is nothing that we can do at the moment. Canada is an incredibly important market for us, so we hope to have a resolution soon," she said.

In addition to lost exports, California wineries were hit by higher input costs as tariffs drove up prices on essentials such as corks and barrels, as well as labels and packaging from abroad.

"For California wine producers, the rising costs are a huge challenge, along with the reduction in consumption in certain markets," said Kautz.

Currently, importers are mostly concerned about the uncertainty caused by the tariffs.

"Uncertainty is the biggest challenge, followed by the strength of the U.S. dollar. Due to the volatility, there is some hesitation," she said.

"It definitely creates challenges in the short term, but we are hoping the policy desired will put U.S. wines at a more level playing field in many countries. There are many countries that receive heavy subsidies and have lower tariffs than we do, so if we can equalize these, it would be very beneficial for our wines," said Kautz.

To mitigate the challenges, Han said his winery is optimizing workflows so that every hour of labor is as productive as possible. "We have scaled back production by about 20 percent to better align supply with current demand," he said.

The uncertainty surrounding wine exports created significant challenges for producers, Han noted.

The volatility is particularly damaging for an industry built on long-term planning, Han said. Vineyards operate on extended timelines, with newly planted vines requiring four years before yielding usable grapes.

Growers must predict which varietals will appeal to consumers years in advance, making tariff unpredictability especially challenging for strategic decision-making, he said.

"Communities here in the Central Valley of California really depend upon agriculture. When we are not given fair trade deals, it really reverberates to the whole economy and community," Stuart Spencer, executive director of Lodi Winegrape Commission, told Xinhua.

"All of agriculture is struggling in the U.S. right now, and the farmer is being asked to bear more of the risk," he said. "We've seen food prices rise a lot here in the U.S., but the farmers are not getting more from it."

"So I think it's important, when you look at wine grapes, you can't just look at wine in vacuum. You have to look at the totality of agriculture and how the whole agriculture sector is performing," he added.