News from the Vineyard
Information sourced from the L.A Times
October 6, 2020
by Edouard Bourgeois
Wildfires on the West Coast
The worst fire in the wine country region's history has scorched 65,000 acres and damaged another five wineries, bringing the total to 18 Napa Valley wineries damaged or destroyed by the Glass Fire. That staggering scale of California’s wildfires reached another milestone Monday: A single fire surpassed 1 million acres. The total area of land burned by California wildfires this year passed 4 million acres, more than double the previous record. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the amount of land scorched by the August Complex is larger than all of the recorded fires in California between 1932 and 1999. There have been 31 deaths and nearly 8,700 buildings have been destroyed, the governor reported.
Numerous studies have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Scientists say climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable. California remains largely warm and dry but fierce winds that fanned infernos a week ago were gone.
In addition to the tragic deaths, current air quality readings are considered unhealthy for sensitive groups according to the Environmental Protection Agency and of course, the impact on the vineyards is devastating. Some producers have decided not to harvest any fruit from its 2020 vintage due to damage caused by smoke fumes. some vintners say harvesting this year’s grapes isn’t worth the time or investment because they can’t be salvaged. Smoke contains compounds that bind to the skin of grapes and get absorbed into the fruit. The aroma releases throughout the fermentation and aging process, making a seemingly unaffected wine taste more ashy over time. In general, red wines, especially ones made with thin-skinned grapes like Pinot Noir, tend to be most affected. The fruit may taste good if you were to pick it from the vine, but the problem is the smoke taint shows itself after fermentation. In some cases, the larger wineries that would buy from a lot of different vineyards would simply reject the grapes, and the vineyard owner is kind of stuck. For the smaller vineyards, the smoke damage to 2020 vines will be harder to stomach. Some may have wines to sell over the next few years, but it’s 2023 that is going to be really problematic, referring to the year the winery’s 2020 vintage would have been sold. With the whole pandemic going on, and now the wildfires, wine country has really taken a hit. To confirm the smoke damage, grapes have to be tested. But the laboratories that perform tests are backlogged with an unprecedented volume of requests, experts say. Results that used to come back within 24 to 72 hours now take about four to five weeks.
Some wineries are getting creative with their smoke tainted grapes. using the smoky wine for spirits. A second-generation grower, Hoopes, leaned into the charred flavor profile of her wine and used it to make brandy and vermouth. The pivot required additional investment on top of losing expensive crops, but she needed to salvage what she could.
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