When Brandon Sywassink walked into his Lodi winery with a truckload of freshly picked grapes, he thought he had completed a year’s worth of work. This was the culmination of months spent pruning, watering, and praying for good weather.
Instead, he was told to throw them away.
“We had a handful of grapes, I would even say a handful of truckloads, that were rejected at the winery because of low brix,” Sywassink, general manager of Manna Ranch in San Joaquin County, recently told CBS Sacramento. [1].
In the wine world, ‘brix’ measures sugar content. The higher the number, the richer and more alcoholic the wine. His contract required 24 brix. His crop measured 23.9 and barely missed the target. This 0.1 percent deficit was enough to wipe out the entire year’s revenue.
“It’s so painful to even watch this,” he said. “Farmers get their paycheck once a year, but we didn’t get our paycheck that day.”
25 tons of grapes, valued between $10,000 and $15,000, were dumped in a nearby field to rot.
The Lodi Wine Grape Commission says stories like Sywassink’s are becoming more common as California growers face stricter quality requirements from the large wineries that dominate the industry.
“They are held to very tough standards,” said Stuart Spencer, the commission’s executive director. “At the same time, these same wineries are bringing in millions of gallons of wine from abroad instead of buying local grapes.”
The combination of strict domestic standards and cheap foreign imports is squeezing small producers like Sywassink, who depend on a single buyer to make ends meet.
“They are completely at the mercy of these big corporations,” Spencer said. “We need to have some kind of code of conduct that makes this an equal partnership because right now growers have no choice.”
Farming has never been easy money, but it’s getting harder. USDA estimates net farm income falls nearly 23% in 2024 [2]Input costs such as fertilizer (up 37%), seeds (18%) and fuel (32%) have increased since 2020 [3]. Unlike most workers, farmers generally rely on a single annual payment, and if a crop is rejected there is no second chance until the following season.
The mild summer that soothes Sywassink’s grapes is part of a growing challenge: climate variability. Not just droughts or wildfires, even slight changes in humidity, sunlight or precipitation can change the chemistry of the crop and undo years of planning.
Many small growers in California sell to only one or two wineries under long-term contracts. This relationship provides stability. Until it wasn’t.
The buyer usually decides everything: harvest interval, delivery schedule and quality standards. If the product does not even slightly meet these specifications, the manufacturer may lose the sale and take damages.
In theory, rejected grapes could be sold to juice or vinegar producers, but after trucking and processing fees the economics often don’t work out.
“It hurts. It hurts,” Sywassink sighed.
Read more: Robert Kiyosaki warns that a ‘Great Depression’ will come to the US, where millions of Americans will be impoverished. But he says these things 2 ‘easy money’ assets will bring ‘great wealth’. How to enter now
The lesson here is not just agricultural, it’s financial. Sywassink’s experience highlights the importance of diversifying, preparedness and awareness of climate risk. Lessons applicable to anyone managing money or investments.
-
Don’t stick to a single source of income. Farmers who are dependent on a single buyer face the same risk as freelancers or small business owners with a single client. Create multiple income streams if possible.
-
Insure your livelihood. Crop insurance through the USDA Risk Management Agency can help offset losses from weather or rejected harvests. For other workers, this means disability, income or employment insurance; these are tools to keep you paying when life changes.
-
Investors: Watch out for the climate premium. For anyone invested in agriculture stocks, farmland REITs or crop insurance ETFs, this story is a reminder that climate risk isn’t just about droughts or wildfires. Small changes in temperature or rainfall timing can reshape entire industries and profit margins.
-
Re-evaluate regional exposure. As regions like California’s Central Valley face tighter climate tolerances, farmland investors may need to rethink valuations and growth forecasts. Land that once seemed stable may become riskier as crops struggle to meet contract terms [4].
-
Support local supply chains. Consumers can also play a role. When you buy a bottle labeled ‘Lodi Appellation’ or ‘California Estate Grown,’ you’re supporting growers like Sywassink and keeping your dollars in American communities.
Sywassink says he won’t walk away despite losing his crop. He plans to try again next year.
“Lodi has given me so much, and I want to be able to give back to Lodi,” he said. “So I want to tell people how great it is that there is so much great produce grown here, that we can all buy it and support each other.”
In a year when a 0.1% sugar deficit meant financial ruin, his story shows how delicate the balance is for a good crop and how resilient America’s small farmers must be.
Because in today’s global wine market, a truckload of grapes can be the difference between a good harvest and a devastating loss.
Join over 200,000 readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first; Clear information compiled and presented weekly. Subscribe now.
We rely only on vetted sources and reliable third-party reports. For details, see our editorial code of ethics and guidelines.
CBS Sacramento (1); Farm Bureau (2); US Dollar (3); UC Riverside (4)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without any warranty.
