The wildfires burning across California are threatening wineries and vineyards across the region at the start of harvest season, posing a potential risk to the state’s lucrative wine industry.
The fire in Lake County in northern California, less than 20 minutes from the heart of America’s wine country of Napa and Sonoma, had reached 73,000 acres and was 35% contained by Thursday, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire). Approximately 600 homes are destroyed, at least three people have died and others are missing as a result of the blaze.
Some vineyards in the region are currently inaccessible due to evacuation orders established by Cal Fire.
Steve Tylicki of Steele Wines in Kelseyville said the biggest obstacle facing vineyards and wineries are the road closures and whether grapes remain on the vine. “I know of some vineyards that still have 80% of their grapes on the vine and they can’t get in to irrigate, which could be problematic,” he said. Steele Wines has already harvested “well over 80%” of its grapes.
There is the potential of grapes becoming overripe and potentially unusable, he added.
Cheryl Lucido, the owner of Laujor Estate, said that she didn’t know if their grapes within the fire zone were safe and still standing. “We are all not sure of what is happening right now and we are just hoping for the best,” she said.
Current sugar saturation levels will allow a break in the harvest, Lucido said, but if the evacuation orders remain for days, or even weeks, it could hurt the ability of wineries to harvest grapes in time for wine production schedules. If the fires persist, that could potentially mean increases in prices across the country.