One of the nation’s oldest wine distributors has blamed Americans' lack of drinking for its bankruptcy.

The Republic National Distributing Company announced Sunday that it had filed for bankruptcy to “explore potential sale transactions in court and implement an orderly wind down of our remaining operations.”

The company, which distributes wine and spirits around the country, said its decision to file for bankruptcy “was not made lightly.”

“Over time, our industry has evolved, consumer preferences have shifted and the wholesale environment has grown increasingly challenging,” the company said in a statement.

A Gallup poll released last summer found that just 54 percent of adults say they drink alcohol, the lowest number in the nearly 90 years since the analytics firm has collected the data.

“This coincides with a growing belief among Americans that moderate alcohol consumption is bad for one’s health, now the majority view for the first time,” Gallup wrote in a release of its findings.

Of those who do drink, beer is more popular. Thirty-eight percent of U.S. drinkers said they drink beer most often, compared to 30 percent who said liquor and 29 percent who said wine.

National wine sales are down to their lowest level in more than 20 years as Americans are drinking less and many young drinkers are turning to canned cocktails or nonalcoholic beers, according to The New York Times.

In California, which produces roughly 80 percent of the country’s wine, vineyards are being burned on purpose because it’s often cheaper to discard the grapes than harvest them with a surplus of unsold bottles, the Times reported Thursday.

The Republic National Distributing Company, which got its start before the Prohibition era, may not survive the decline of drinking more than a century later.

The company said it has already made changes over the last several months that “preserved over 5,000 jobs and allowed our businesses in those markets to continue serving their customers and suppliers.”

In late May, the Reyes Beverage Group acquired Republic National Distributing Company’s operations in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Nearly a year before, Republic National Distributing Company decided to shut down its operations in California.

“We’ve made the difficult business decision to withdraw from California which affects many of the roles in the state,” CEO Bob Hendrickson told BevNET in June 2025.

“We are complying with all regulatory obligations and are committed to handling every transition thoughtfully and smoothly and ensuring everyone is treated fairly and respectfully. We are grateful for the support of these employees and will do our best to support them during this time.”

The bankruptcy process will allow the company to continue to work with entities that “have expressed an interest in acquiring our other markets,” Sunday’s statement read.

“We thank our suppliers and customers for their patience and support. We are incredibly grateful to our associates for their dedication and commitment to our company, our suppliers, our customers and each other,” the company said.