When harvest came last fall, many Napa and Sonoma vintners weren’t sure who was going to pick the grapes. America’s labor crunch is being felt across California’s $43.6 billion wine industry. Fires, pandemic travel restrictions and other challenges have exacerbated a chronic labor problem that has been worsening for more than a decade. Now winegrowers are searching for new solutions, along with raising wages for workers and moving to mechanical harvesting.
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