Wine Institute issued an upbeat assessment of the impact of wildfires on California Wine Country, and suggested the fires won’t have significant impact on California wine production this year.
Of the 1,200 wineries in Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties, fewer than 10 have been destroyed or heavily damaged, Wine Institute said. Most winery tasting rooms have reopened for business.
As we reported last week, in most cases vineyards didn’t burn owing to their high moisture content, and helped save structures in or near vineyards. “In previous fire incidents, vineyards have acted as firebreaks,” Wine Institute noted.
Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties, represent about 12% of overall California winegrape production combined. California accounts for 85% of U.S. wine production and is the fourth leading wine producer in the world. So, if this year’s harvest was completely destroyed in those three counties, 88% of California wine production would have been untouched.
But most of the harvest – 90% in Napa and Sonoma counties and 75% in Mendocino County — was already in before the fires started. Smoke or heat from the fires did not impact fermenting wine or wine that had already been bottled, Wine Institute said, adding that wine inventories from previous vintages were generally unharmed. Most of what remains on the vines is Cabernet Sauvignon.
Citing reports from eight California insurers, the state’s insurance commissioner said more than 7,000 structures were damaged or destroyed, and preliminary data indicates $1.045 billion in losses. The numbers are expected to climb as more claims are filed and processed.