A City Journal report accuses California Gov. Gavin Newsom of building his multimillion dollar wine empire with illegal migrant labor. The investigation also suggests the Democrat has maintained a private financial interest in policies promoting illegal immigration.

Christopher Rufo, Ryan Thorpe, and Kenneth Schrupp investigated Newsom’s PlumpJack Collection of Wineries and Oso Vineyard. PlumpJack purchased Oso Vineyard in 2022, according to the report.

Newsom continues to hold a financial stake in PlumpJack, the report states. Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, reported at least $11 million in income from 2019 through 2024.

Most of that money came from Newsom’s stake in wineries and restaurants, according to the investigation. The report therefore places his political record alongside the business holdings that have generated much of the couple’s reported income.

The journalists said their findings were based on court documents, labor reports, and interviews with various sources in California’s wine industry. Those records and interviews formed the basis of the report’s allegations concerning labor used by Newsom’s wine business.

“Newsom’s business has contracted the services of a vineyard management company with a long history of employing illegal labor,” the report states. That allegation focuses on a management company hired by the governor’s business rather than workers hired directly by Newsom.

The report argues that Newsom’s actions as governor have used taxpayer money to facilitate the continued presence of illegal immigrants in California. It further contends that this helps support the struggling Napa wine industry from which Newsom profits.

EXCLUSIVE: We spent weeks in Napa Valley investigating Gavin Newsom's wine empire. According to a whistleblower, the operation is built on undocumented migrant labor, in violation of the law.

Illegal aliens pick the grapes—and Newsom sells the wine for up to $7,000 a bottle. https://t.co/26XvCOQuDX— Christopher Rufo (@christopherrufo) November 11, 2026

Multiple Napa wine industry sources told City Journal that the actual share of illegal immigrants working in vineyards is considerably higher than generally acknowledged. Their estimates put illegal labor at the center of the workforce supporting California’s wine operations.

“I think it’s 80%,” said the owner of a vineyard management company who spoke with the journalists on the condition of anonymity. The source presented that figure as an estimate of the illegal share of workers employed in vineyards.

“If you’re legal, you have your Green Card, you have your driver’s license and all these things, you don’t want to be working in the vineyards,” the anonymous vineyard management company owner said.

Another source told City Journal that “about 80%” of vineyard workers in California’s wine industry are illegal aliens. That source also addressed the company contracted by Newsom’s business.

The management company is certainly aware that it employs illegal aliens. The report did not identify that industry source by name in the material provided.

The investigation ties those labor claims to Newsom’s record on immigration policy. Throughout his career, Newsom has advanced an agenda that protects illegal aliens from federal immigration law and provides them with social services, according to the report.

In February, Newsom allocated $35 million in California taxpayer funds to support illegal aliens and provide them with legal services. The assistance was directed toward illegal aliens facing deportation from the United States.

The report presents those policies as financially relevant to Newsom because of his continuing stake in wineries and restaurants. Its central accusation is that California taxpayers are supporting an immigration agenda that also helps sustain a wine industry from which the governor receives income.

Newsom’s reported income, his continuing PlumpJack stake, the company’s use of a vineyard management contractor, and the estimates from industry sources form the investigation’s case. Together, the report says, those details reveal a financial stake behind the governor’s aggressive support for illegal immigration.

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