The Latest Victim of Trump’s Tariff War? American Vintners

Shortly after President Trump came into office in January, he set a wild wave of tariffs into motion. Many of our closest allies and trade partners were outraged. 

As a result, Canada—who purchases 33% of U.S. wine exports—banned American alcohol sales. California Cabernet was banished. Canadian Whisky took over the spots reserved for Bourbon.

Our neighbors to the north are not the only country left with a bad taste in their mouth following tariffs. 

Danish wine stores are boycotting U.S.-made wines. In Sweden, state monopoly liquor store Systembolaget has seen sales of American wines drop 15% as customers have sought out alternatives. American winemakers have reported Portuguese buyers pulling out of new orders.  

While these tariffs were set to strengthen domestic production, American wineries are also feeling the aftershocks—just like restaurants, distributors and importers.

Building Boycotts

“Made in America” has become an unsavory term as sour sentiments around President Trump’s trade war grow. 

“The newly imposed U.S. trade tariffs on European products are causing European consumers to think twice about what’s in their shopping cart,” the European Central Bank wrote. The current tariffs proposed on most goods imported from Europe sit at 50%, and will go into effect July 9 (though talks are underway).

In France and Denmark, Boycott USA Facebook pages have grown. In Canada, apps like Maple Scan have emerged to help shoppers make homegrown swaps for American goods. 

Even some governments have purged American products. Several Canadian provinces pulled American alcoholic beverages off shelves. Three months in, no American wine has been sold in Ontario or Quebec.

“The tariffs are creating a fiercely pro-Canadian movement,” says Shane Munn, winemaker at Martin’s Lane in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. “You see it in the grocery store—people pick up products, check where it’s from, make a face and switch to something labelled ‘Grown in Canada.’”

Canada is a critical market, the top importer of U.S. wine. “Canada is the single most important export market for U.S. wines, with retail sales in excess of $1.1 billion annually,” said Robert P. Koch, president of the Wine Institute, in a statement.

That number dropped off a cliff after the tariffs were announced. In April 2025, U.S. wine exports to Canada dropped a staggering 72.5% compared to April of last year—falling $25.5 million to $9.69 million—the lowest monthly value since March 2005, according to the American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE).

This has been a blow for American vintners. 

Lost in Limbo

Jenna Foster, who imports Carlo Mondavi’s RAEN and California’s Stirm, Madson and Jolie-Laide into the Ontario market, says that American wines that made it to Ontario pre-tariff are stuck in governmental warehouses, without either Canadian distributors or American producers making profit. Essentially, they’re in purgatory. “There’s hundreds of millions of dollars of wine paid for that can’t be sold,” she says. “We aren’t sure if they’re planning to destroy the product, or will let us sell it eventually to recoup the money.”

Bill Easton, of Easton Vineyards, told Comstock’s Magazine he’s already lost several hundred thousand dollars of business.“My Canadian business is shut down as of now…,” Easton said. “I’ve spent 35 years developing that market, and what worries me is, even if all these tariffs get cancelled, it’s going to poison the well by hurting longtime relationships.”

Jarad Hadi, owner-winemaker of Grape Ink, a high-elevation project in Oregon, has had his Canadian and Portuguese imports paused. “It’s just a few pallets, but as a small producer who focuses on low-quantity, high-quality wines, it’s a significant portion of my production.”

Hadi has spent time and money, both finite resources as a small producer, investing in new markets. “These are relationships we’re building,” he says. “It’s bigger than navigating difficult tariffs.” 

Years of Work, Undone

These anti-American sentiments are unravelling decades of marketing work and relationship building. 

“It’s insane,” says Foster. “After years of American wine gaining traction internationally, it’s coming to a halt. My producers gauge how much they should produce based on market projections of their importers. Now, they have to pivot to new markets, hope other markets can take it, repurpose it or label it as a back vintage.”

Hospitality pros in markets where American wine has become taboo are watching the damage unfold firsthand. “As a sommelier in Toronto, I’m seeing a decreased demand for American wines,” says Geoffrey Fleming, from Big Hug Hospitality (MIMI Chinese, Sunnys Chinese, Linny’s). “People will come right out and say, ‘I don’t want anything from the States.’”  

At Harbour 60, one of Toronto’s largest and glitziest steakhouses, American wine is a pillar of their program. In anticipation of the tariffs, Wine Director Christian P. Hamel stocked up before restrictions set in. “We have a lot of Americans coming in and they expect us to have those wines.”

Two months later, they’re running out. “I’m out of Caymus. I’m out of J. Lohr,” he says. “We’re at a point where we have to tell the table, ‘We’re so sorry, but what else will we be drinking?’”

A Boon to International Wines

Guests understand. Hamel has been able to push Washington wines to disappointed California Cab drinkers, but mainly, he’s introducing them to non-American wines, like Amarone, or wines from Australia or Latin America. “I’ve even sold Chinese wines as an American replacement,” he says.

Hamel expects excitement for California to spike when boycotts wind down, but he also believes many consumers will stick to their new findings. “I think guests will have experienced new regions or styles and say, ‘You know what? I’m going to keep drinking this,’” he says.

Fleming agrees. “I’m not overly concerned about American wine, as I’ve discovered a renewed interest in other New World wines (Australia, South Africa, South America).”

America’s loss seems to be others’ gain. Ashleigh Forster, head sommelier at the Michelin-starred Don Alfonso 1890 in Toronto, has removed California whites and reds from her by-the-glass list. 

“Up until the tariffs, getting people to drink Canadian wine has been a challenge,” she says. “Tariffs have given us the moment to put more Canadian wine in glasses. There are still guests who will cold order American bottles. But that’s gone down. The opportunities for other things have grown.”

Supply Chain Migraines

Back in the U.S., one of the simplest tariff arguments is that by making imported wines pricier, American wines will be more appealing from a price standpoint. But, like all things related to economics, it’s not so straightforward.

“Customers believe that it can’t be a bad thing for American producers to get a boost in exposure from fewer European wines,” says Miriam Matasar, of New Orleans bottle shop Really Really Nice Wines. “But they’re not aware of the ways the American wine business relies on global trade.” 

Materials—including corks, glass, labels and other raw ingredients most consumers don’t think about—hail from a global supply chain. Tariffs and other switch-ups can increase costs in various ways.

“Winemaking is an unglamorous, industrial process, even in the natural wine world,” says Matasar. “If winemakers can’t get materials they need to operate their warehouses, they can’t store their wine. Or, they’ll have to pay exorbitant prices to find other material sources, which will be passed on to the consumer.”

“We know price spikes are coming,” says Matasar. “It’s a matter of when, how and how much.”

Though the tariffs were aimed at international countries, the after-effects are being felt intensely across the entire American wine industry, from importers and distributors, to restaurants and sommeliers, to vintners.

“All our clients who usually buy American wines are now exploring new regions, some for the first time,” says Jordin Clark, the sales director of Canada’s Lifford Cellars. “A lot of what people love about American wines can be found elsewhere, in South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Italy. And our winery partners are investing in Canada hoping to take more of that U.S. market share.”

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