‘Dry wine’: The plight of California grapegrowers

A vicious, four-year drought may be close to catching up with California’s winemakers, and it’s the small producers of inexpensive wine that are likely to be hit hardest. The California drought has left some vineyards with a fraction of their usual water allotment. State Water Project allocations hover around 20 percent of normal, while the San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts are delivering no more than 30-35 percent of normal supplies, according to Jay Lund, professor and blogger for the University of California-Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.