Those wildfires that raged through California’s wine country in the fall were just dreadful. But 98.8% of 139,204 vineyard acres was untouched.
That’s the conclusion of Sonoma State University which surveyed more than 200 vineyard and winery stakeholders across Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma Counties.
“The most significant impact on the North Coast wine industry was an immediate and temporary slow-down of visitors to the region. We believe this was driven by images and reports at the height of the disaster. Fortunately, the numbers show that this trend has corrected and continues to improve. We also have early indications from the broader economy that our regional recovery will be strong,” Honore Comfort, Wine Business Executive in Residence said.
“Going forward, our team of economists, industry executives, and scientists will apply these findings in a coordinated plan to ensure confidence among consumer, media, and trade organizations in the quality standards for the 2017 vintage,” Comfort added.
Other findings:
- 93% of wineries (950 of 1,025) are reported as unaffected by the fires in terms of structural damage or long-term impact.
- 99.5% of the total crop value was recovered (calculations based on 2016 crush report).
- 90% of affected wineries and grape growers reported that vineyards would not need to be replanted or replaced, and of those that do, most would be less than 10 acres.
- 71% of survey respondents reported an immediate drop in tasting room traffic compared to the same period last year, although this trend started to recover in November.
- 62% of respondents reported a drop in tasting room sales compared to this period last year.
- 50% of respondents reported that visitors from the San Francisco Bay Area increased or remained constant, while visitation from outside California and the U.S. was most affected.
- 75% of respondents noted online sales are equal to or higher than this period last year.
In the affected areas, vineyards often served as firebreaks that prevented the spread of fire, which is considered a primary cause for the limited damage. The reduction in visitor traffic and tasting room sales is thought to be the result of inaccurate national news reports and subsequent public misperception that a large portion of the wine region was damaged or closed due to wildfires.
Beginning in November, this trend reversed with visitor numbers returning to or exceeding prior year numbers for the same period. Other wine regions in the state reported a significant increase in visitor numbers during this period, the study found.