Santa Clara County Hunts 1,300 Costco Grapevines After Sharpshooter Discovery Threatens $73 Billion Wine Industry
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 15
Santa Clara County Hunts 1,300 Costco Grapevines After Sharpshooter Discovery Threatens $73 Billion Wine Industry
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 15
Summary
County workers began door-to-door visits Monday to find and collect more than 1,300 grapevine plants sold at Costco in Santa Clara County between April 21 and May 19.
The search follows the discovery of glassy-winged sharpshooters on some vines sold at select Costco stores; officials are handing residents bags and zip ties to isolate suspect plants.
State officials and Costco provided customer information to local authorities, and the potentially infested vines and other plants were also sold elsewhere in California.
The invasive insect can spread Pierce’s disease, which kills grapevines and can also damage citrus and other crops, putting California’s $73 billion wine industry at risk.
California has faced the pest before: in 1999, more than 300 acres of infested grapevines in Riverside County were infected with Pierce’s disease and destroyed.
With thousands of 'ticking time bomb' plants sold statewide, is a door-to-door search enough to stop a plague on California's vineyards?
A single nursery's error threatens California's $73B wine industry. How can the state stop the next agricultural crisis from being sold in stores?
$4 Billion at Risk: The 2026 Santa Clara Grapevine Recall and California's Fight Against Pierce's Disease
Overview
In July 2026, Santa Clara County faced an urgent recall of grapevine plants after a disease was detected in a large number of vines distributed quickly across the region. The California Department of Food and Agriculture confirmed that affected grapevines were sold in many counties, making the recall effort critical. County officials focused on retrieving the plants and stopping the disease’s spread, but their success depended on strong cooperation from residents. Despite the scale of the crisis, there was cautious optimism that, with public support, most plants could be recovered and the threat contained.