California wildfires hit wine country, burning hotels and threatening vineyards
As a perfect storm of dry vegetation and gusty, strong winds continue to fuel the inferno raging through California, the vineyards of Northern California's famed wine country are feeling the devastating affects of wildfire - and the wine industry may be impacted by fire damage for years to come.
Several wineries reportedly been destroyed and multiple hotels servicing visitors to wine country have burned down, including the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country in Santa Rosa. The fire jumped Napa's Silverado Trail, which is lined with vineyards.
MarketWatch reports that the wine and tourism industries in Northern California could be hit hard by the affects of the fire. Since the fires have struck during grape harvest season, with cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes still on the vines, the fire could potentially cause "years-long shortages of wine grapes."
The Napa Valley Vintners and Sonoma County Vintners, the trade organizations for wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties respectively, are still assessing the damage, and helping to ensure that all vineyard employees and residents get to safety.
"We're still piecing together information," said a representative from Sonoma County Vintners. "The fires are still active. And our primary concern right now is ensuring the safety of our team, our members, our colleagues, and the rescuers."
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Striking images have appeared on social media of threatened or burned vineyards.
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So far, 13 people have died, hundreds have been injured, and 1,500 structures have been destroyed as a result of the fires.
UPDATE Oct. 10 3 p.m. ET:
The Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) nonprofit trade association said in a statement it has received status updates from more than 100 of its member wineries, with at least four wineries reporting "total or very significant losses" and nine detailing damage to wineries, buildings, and vineyards. A number of facilities in the most affected areas have yet to contact the trade organization.
The NVV notes that, though it is "too early to estimate the economic impact," 90 percent of grapes were harvested before the fires began, and that the association does not anticipate smoke or fire damage to the largely cabernet sauvignon grapes that remain on the vine.
