‘Perfect storm’: Wineries fear fires’ effects on grape harvest
The 2020 vintage was always going to be a challenging one for California wineries, thanks to the safety challenges and economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic. But the state’s winemakers could never have imagined that excessive heat, lightning storms and raging wildfires — which, in addition to threatening buildings and people, also bring the possibility of smoke that could damage flavors in the grapes — would also accompany the outset of this year’s harvest.
“It’s the perfect storm,” said Tony Bugica, director of farming for Atlas Vineyard Management, which farms 3,500 acres in the North Coast. “2020 is like nothing we’ve ever been through.”
Wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Napa Valley and Sonoma County were all battling wildfires by Wednesday morning. In the Chiles Valley area of eastern Napa County, the Hennessey Fire — part
of the 46,000acre LNU Lightning Complex that devastated Vacaville — singed parts of Brown Estate, Somerston Estate and Nichelini Vineyards, though no damage to grapevines or winery buildings was reported.
But at Nichelini, a barn, cabin and one family member’s home burned.
“The house is not minor, of course, but no one was hurt,” said Aimée Sunseri, the winemaker at the 130yearold, familyowned property. “It moved so fast, and I know a lot of people were just trying to get out.”
Craig Becker, general manager and winemaker for Somerston Estate, was in Yountville on Tuesday afternoon when he saw “these smoke plumes that looked like nuclear bombs” erupting in the direction of his vineyard. The Hennessey Fire did reach the northern end of Somerston’s 1,682acre property, but it burned only through open pasture land before moving on.
“There just aren’t enough resources to fight all these fires right now,” he said. “Cal Fire came in, checked on us, then left. It’s not a criticism — it’s just a reality.”
Becker credits Somerston’s 600 resident sheep, whose constant grazing leaves the ground with minimal flammable material, with saving the property. (All the sheep are accounted for and safe, he added.)
In the Santa Cruz Mountains, the CZU August Lightning Complex had burned 10,000 acres. Bradley Brown, ownerwinemaker at Big Basin Vineyards in Boulder Creek, evacuated Tuesday around 7 p.m. when he saw helicopters overhead. Because he wasn’t at the property, he couldn’t know for sure, but on Wednesday midday he believed his winery and grapevines were still intact, though he could see on NASA maps that flames were engulfing the area on both sides.
It’s all made for an ominous start to the harvest season, which is normally the California wine industry’s most exciting and hopeful time of the year, when the hard work of farmers from throughout the year comes to fruition.
Even without the wildfires, the heat wave and thunderstorms of the past week were already concerning for wine quality, said Bugica. Heat can desiccate berries, shriveling them into raisins, and can cause sugar levels to shoot up before the grapes achieve physiological ripeness — effectively forcing growers to pick the grapes before they taste flavorful. Plus, the combination of high heat and humidity mean that grapes will almost certainly develop botrytis, a type of mold.
“It’s very extreme, this weather, and the vines don’t acclimate,” said Bugica, who began harvesting grapes about 10 days ago. “Some of the leaves are already turning yellow. They’re in shock, they’re dehydrated.”
It’s déjà vu for winemakers, who endured a 2017 heat wave that preceded the catastrophic Wine Country fires. After those fires’ initial damage was done, some wineries also found their crop ruined by smoke taint — a phenomenon that occurs when smoke lingers in the air and imbues wine grapes with an unpleasant, irreversible smoky flavor. Somerston Estate lost its entire vintage in 2017 due to smoke taint, Becker said.
But while wineries in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties have been dealing with smoke taint concerns frequently in recent years, the Santa
Cruz Mountains have been largely spared — until now, depending on how the wind blows this week. On Wednesday, the smoke appeared to be moving, a promising sign.
“We’ve been lucky so far when it comes to smoke taint,” said Dave Golnick, owner of Mindego Ridge Vineyard in La Honda, where he expected to begin harvesting Pinot Noir next week. In Golnick’s 11 years of farming, he hasn’t lost any grapes to smoke, but whether he loses any this year depends on “timing and wind,” he said. If smoke passes through quickly, it’s unlikely to affect the fruit; once it lingers for days, that’s bad news.
Smoky air is a concern for vineyard workers, too, who have already had to adapt their work significantly to meet coronavirus safety protocols. To reduce the spread of the virus, many companies are reducing the number of workers, keeping them in pods so that they come in contact with a smaller set of people, and spacing them out throughout the vineyard in larger distances than usual.
Ken Swegles, a consultant with Rhizos Viticulture in the Santa Cruz Mountains, had planned to begin picking grapes on Wednesday but decided to call it off for safety reasons.
“I don’t want to have my crews breathing in the smoke,” he said.
To add insult to injury for grape farmers, the California wine industry has been dealing with an oversupply of grapes and wine for the past two years, coupled with slowing growth in wine sales nationwide. Those two forces have significantly decreased the prices that farmers can command for grapes.
“Russian River Valley Pinot Noir was going for $4,000 a ton two years ago,” said Bugica. “It was $2,000 last year, and now we’re getting offers for under $1,000. It’s not good.”
With the wildfires still raging and their full effects still unknown, it was difficult to get a clear forecast on the 2020 vintage. But Becker was hopeful. The growing season, until last week, had been marked by moderate, optimal weather. If the fires pass and smoke doesn’t linger, the damage could be minimal.
“I’m optimistic,” Becker said. “You have to be.”
Golnick, of Mindego Ridge, had to find some humor in the confluence of every worstcase scenario at once.
“Is that all you got, 2020?” he laughed, adding: “I’m so ready for 2021.”