Just don’t call it ‘tequila’

Gian Nelson, left, and David Ortega, owners of Jano Spirits, hold coas, a traditional tool used in harvesting agave plants, in Napa County, Calif., April 4, 2025. Certified California agave spirits — similar in taste but distinct from Mexican tequila and mezcal — must be grown, processed and distilled in-state, making it attractive to customers who value sustainability and local sourcing. (Emma Kruch/The New York Times)

By Kevin Noble Maillard

Until a decade ago, California agave plants were more likely to be found in a plush Santa Barbara garden than in a fertile San Joaquin field. But in the past few years, farmers have begun cultivating this drought-resistant plant, which is essential to the traditional production of tequila and mezcal, as a wave of entrepreneurs fuels the rise of the California agave spirits industry.

“I used to say we’re in our infancy,” said Craig Reynolds, founding director of the California Agave Council, who first planted a crop of Blue Weber agave plants in Yolo County in 2014. “But I think we’ve moved to our toddler phase where we’re on our own two feet.”

Under a 2022 state law, certified California agave spirits — similar in taste but distinct from Mexican tequila and mezcal — must be grown, processed and distilled in state, making it attractive to customers who value sustainability and local sourcing. For these growers and distillers, competing with Mexico is neither the future goal nor a current possibility.

Only agave spirits produced under authorized conditions from specific regions in Mexico are entitled to the nomenclature of “tequila” or “mezcal,” which are legal designations protected by denomination of origin, similar to regionally specific restrictions on French Champagne or Italian Parmesan. Tequila and mezcal products that qualify under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempted from tariffs, according to Robert Tobiassen, president of the National Association of Beverage Importers.

While other states like Texas and Arizona have entered the market, they pale in comparison to Mexico’s output. In 2024, Mexico exported almost 300 million bottles of tequila and mezcal globally — enough liquid to fill 160 Olympic size swimming pools — with 251 million bottles going to the United States alone.

That same year, California produced around 3,750 bottles of agave spirits, about the size of a single backyard pool.

Yet California distillers do think they can compete on quality. Dr. Krista Ramonas, a founder of the emerging label La Tintura, an agave spirit marketed to women, likens the movement to the Judgment of Paris, a pivotal blind wine tasting in 1976 when “California defeated all Gaul.”

“Tariffs are teaching us that perhaps we have some of these products already available to us in our own land,” she said. “We can grow it here and blossom a whole new industry the way they said Cabernet could never be grown in Napa.”

But it will take time. Even though agave plants require minimal water resources, they take an average of eight years to reach maturity and even longer for some varieties. The entire plant is harvested, and the cycle starts again. Because of the considerable lag time between planting and distilling, California producers have had to source agave from Mexico because there was not enough supply at home.

Stuart Woolf, the current president of the agave council and the managing partner of California Agave Growers, began planting agave on his family farm in Huron in 2019, eventually expanding his crop to 450 acres, making him the largest agave farmer in the United States. “We’re growing a drought-tolerant, climate-resilient crop as part of adapting to California’s water issues,” he said.

Woolf will plant an additional 100 acres on his property this year, and he believes the California industry will increase to 1,100 total acres planted by the end of the year.

Sharla Ortega, a fourth-generation farmer who now lives in Southern California, initially planted 50 Blue Americanas to stabilize the soil on a steep hill on her 11-acre property in Murrieta. The offshoots, known as hijuelos, proliferated quickly to a crop of 5,000, naturally irrigated by the drifting marine layer from the Pacific Ocean, just 12 miles to the west. With her husband, Leo, whose family hails from the tequila-producing region of Jalisco, Mexico, they expanded their crop portfolio to incorporate other plant varieties, allowing them to supply in-state distillers.

The industry’s growth has provided new opportunities for strict locavores trying to reduce their carbon footprint. “For restaurants 100% focused on local products,” said Sean Venus, founder of Venus Spirits in Santa Cruz, “there’s never been an opportunity to serve a margarita.”

Gian Nelson, a native of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, and co-founder of Jano Spirits, remembers the first harvest of 2024, standing around a deep, smoldering pit piled high with gargantuan agave hearts. Although unexpected rain ruined the harvest, it did not dampen the sprit of celebration and purpose.

“There is a rich history in this state of taking something and turning it into something else,” he recalled of the day. “We have the climate and mindset to do anything, and that grit to get it done.”

California agave spirits to try

Currently, shipping is not available outside of California, but check with the distiller to see if the laws change.

El Ladrón Yolo, $90, Venus Spirits, Santa Cruz: The first agave spirit grown and distilled entirely within California.

Tecolotito, $55, Ventura Spirits, Ventura: Blancos and reposados farmed and harvested at the Georgi Ranch in Goleta, California.

Jano Spirits, Napa: Small-batch distillations traditionally harvested and roasted in farm-to-bottle partnerships with local farmers around California.

Los Hijuelos, $90, Shelter Distilling, Mammoth Lakes: Rare batch made from fully flowered plants.