Wine bottles among burned in Napa Valley
NAPA (AP) — Metal racks sagging with dozens of blackened bottles were among the smoldering remains of a Napa Valley winery destroyed by wildfires that raced through a region famous for its fine food and drink.
Throughout Northern California’s wine country, vintners able to get to property surveyed the damage to vineyards, tasting rooms and storage while others had to wait for flames to die down.
Speedy, wind-driven wildfires that started Sunday came as workers in Napa and Sonoma counties were picking and processing ripe grapes to make chardonnay, merlot and other wines that have made the region a global hot spot.
The Napa Valley Vintners trade association says at least five wineries belonging to members have had “complete losses” in facilities, with another nine reporting some damage.
Nearby, a tasting room called Le Chateau is a heap of blackened debris.
Paradise Ridge Winery is no longer a heaven for wine buffs.
Situated on a hill overlooking Santa Rosa, it is one of the wineries destroyed by fierce fires that broke out Sunday.
Many such wineries, some a hundred years old, have been damaged and part of the winre crop is threatened.
“I’ve worked in the region for 25 years but I had not seen anything like this,” said Christian Butzke, a professor of oenology at Purdue University.
“People are in shock about how quickly this moved,” he added.
The fires have killed 15 people so far and forced thousands to evacuate their homes. Nearly 150 people are unaccounted for and some 2,000 buildings have been devoured by the flames.
Ray Johnson, head of the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University, said the fires have had a major impact on the wine industry in Santa Rosa, a postcard-pretty part of California north of San Francisco.