Wildfires take toll in wine country
Deadly wildfires in northern California’s wine country devastated some vineyards and wineries in the iconic Napa Valley and Sonoma County regions, but experts said it was too early to assess the full impact on the 2017 harvest or wines from the vintage.
The Napa Valley Vintners trade association heard from more than 100 of its 550 members yesterday, and at least four wineries reported “total or very significant” losses due to fire as of 2:30 p.m. At least nine others reported damage to their winery, outbuildings or vineyards.
The trade group had yet to hear from members in the most vulnerable areas of Napa Valley, and others still were unable to access their properties.
“It is too early to estimate the economic impact of the fires on the Napa Valley wine industry,” the trade group said in a statement.
It’s harvest season in Napa Valley, but an estimated 90 percent of the grapes were picked before the wildfires started Sunday night, and some vineyards with safe access to their properties were continuing the harvest.
“What we do know is that of the grapes remaining on the vine, it is almost all Cabernet Sauvignon,” the trade group said. “Our winemakers report that this thick-skinned variety, fully developed and ready to be picked for the 2017 harvest, is not expected to be impacted by the smoke.”
Napa accounts for 4 percent of the tons of grapes crushed for California’s wine harvest, and Sonoma County accounts for 6 tons, according to the Wine Institute, a San Francisco-based trade group for 1,000-plus California wineries. The two regions account for more than 1,100 of the state’s 4,700 wineries.
California is the largest U.S. wine market and the world’s fourth largest producer. Retail sales hit an estimated $34.1 billion in 2016.