NAPA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — The wine industry is the latest to face supply chain issues, and customers may soon have to pay more for a bottle.
The production line at Inman Family Wines in Santa Rosa is an efficient and well-oiled machine.
Still, the cost of making each bottle is going up.
Kathleen Inman, owner of Inman Family Wines, says the challenges started when the Trump administration put tariffs on imports, which includes an 18 percent duty on glass.
On top of the tariffs, the pandemic caused a sudden spike in shipping.
“They’ve put on ocean surcharges now and the surcharge was $7 and 30 cents a case — more than the glass actually costs,” Inman said.
Ultimately, the whole bottling process is now more expensive.
Inman says costs could go up anywhere from 3 to 5 dollars a bottle.
And the spike in material costs — prompting her to reluctantly consider raising the prices on her wine.
Inman says she’s not the only winery dealing with supply issues.
President of Glass Packaging Institute Scott DeFife says there is no shortage of glass in North America.
“Demand is really high and it’s not easy to just switch your supply chain like that,” DeFife said. “It takes time to change suppliers to get into a production aligned.”
But for Inman, who has recently dealt with wildfires and droughts, she’s choosing to look at the glass as “half full.”
Now, Inman is making the best of a challenging situation.