Chef Jim Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Some real crazy crap going on in Napa and Sonoma. Most of you know that my wife and I lived in the Bay area from 2009 until a couple months ago. We frequented the wine country (dozens of trips to Sonoma maybe 10 to Napa). 11 confirmed dead with over 100 missing. There is little word regarding how this has impacted the wineries up there because no one is able to get in to see what's gone and who's been spared. I just found out our favorite restaurant (Willi's Wine Bar) is gone. Wineries and restaurants can be rebuilt. The lived affected however may not recover or it will take a long time. ****!!
Chef Jim Posted October 10, 2017 Author Posted October 10, 2017 My wife just sent this. This may sound a bit too sentimental but when you visit these places on a regular basis they become family. That's the thing about wineries. You visit and get to know the people there. They are down to earth farmers. Was so nice to leave the phony city behind for a day and visit with these people that work these places for love not money. You buy their wine and you have a part of them in your liquor cabinet, wine rack, wine cellar. I have no idea how much of these are contained but damn this is a sad story. In Sonoma County, the fire reportedly has destroyed Willi’s Wine Bar, The Fountaingrove Inn and the Hilton Wine Country Hotel in Santa Rosa. In Glen Ellen and Kenwood, residents have reported that Chateau St. Jean and a local lavender field are gone. Locals also report that fires are burning at Kenwood winery, while others note fire fighting efforts to try to save B.R. Cohn. The fire also appears to be close to Benziger winery. A blaze on a Sonoma Valley ridge threatens nearby wineries, including Scribe and Gundlach Bundschu. The nearby Moon Mountain district, where wineries and vineyards are on steep, remote hillsides, are also at risk. A representative at the Charles M. Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa said employees evacuated after the museum lost power and the fire closed in, but at present, the museum is safe. Wildlife preserve Safari West, which is in the Mayacamas Mountains between Napa and Sonoma, posted on Facebook, “While the situation remains dynamic and very dangerous, we have received word that the Safari West Wildlife Preserve appears to have weathered the worst of this firestorm. The situation is still very much active and could take a turn, but for the moment, it looks like our preserve and our animals are OK.”
mead107 Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Have enjoyed a lot of bottles of chateau St. Jean
Augie Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 When you know the places it just becomes that much more real, and personal. I'll freely admit, wild fires scare the crap out of me much more than your average natural disaster!
sullim4 Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 We were wine tasting in Sonoma this past April. I talked to a guy working the tasting bar at Imagery Estates in Glen Ellen that knew Doug Whaley (who was fired the next day). It's really quite sad, a ton of great wine up there and the people are a breath of fresh air compared to the vast majority of crazies in the Bay Area. Expect prices of wine for 2017+ vintages to skyrocket.
CowgirlsFan Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Horribly sad for everyone there in the entire state.
GoBills808 Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Just looked at some of the photos...wow. I didn't realize how widespread the damage was. Got a friend who is some sort of on-call fireman, they send him to Alaska in the summers, he says this is one of the worst he's seen.
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Has the abating of the drought helped or is it still pretty dry. This is some crazy crap... Even OC near Anaheim is getting it. Are you safe from there? Stay safe to all. Just read the story of the 22 year old evacuating his sisters... Had search on internet for an evac route. Gotta get that stuff drilled into your head early when living in wildfire country! :-(
DC Tom Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Conflicting reports are that William Hill and Stag's Leap wineries were destroyed. The Napa and Sonoma grape crops are ruined either way. Can't use the grapes after they've absorbed so much smoke.
Just Jack Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Was thinking of you when I heard and saw some of the reports. ABC had on their broadcast last night, video from one winery tasting room, that was burned down, but you could still see some shelving with bottles still stacked and ready. Can't use the grapes after they've absorbed so much smoke. Nah, new product, Smoked Wine!
DC Tom Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Was thinking of you when I heard and saw some of the reports. ABC had on their broadcast last night, video from one winery tasting room, that was burned down, but you could still see some shelving with bottles still stacked and ready. Nah, new product, Smoked Wine! "Dry, with overtones of tobacco and bacon..."
Deranged Rhino Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Has the abating of the drought helped or is it still pretty dry.( The drought broke - and the ensuing rain made a bunch of new green kindling all across the state. High winds and high heat with more stuff to burn in almost a decade is why we are on fire currently.
sherpa Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Conflicting reports are that William Hill and Stag's Leap wineries were destroyed. The Napa and Sonoma grape crops are ruined either way. Can't use the grapes after they've absorbed so much smoke. The vast majority were harvested weeks ago. They had an issue this year with early raisoning, because of excessive heat, so they harvested early. Still cost them 10% or better of their crop, but not too serious. Only issue with harvested grapes in fermentation is smoke damage, and that can be prevented.
sullim4 Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 (edited) The Napa and Sonoma grape crops are ruined either way. Can't use the grapes after they've absorbed so much smoke. That's not entirely accurate. We live in Washington state and are club members of a winery near Yakima, in a town called Prosser. In 2015, there were huge wildfires in the area right before harvest time - mid to late August. Smoke was everywhere although the fires were sufficiently far north that most wineries were spared from the actual flames. The 2015 Yakima Valley vintages we've tried so far have been fine. With respect to the 2017 Sonoma/Napa vintages, the articles I've read say that the Cabernet and Merlot varietals are the primary ones yet to have been harvested... assuming the picked crops survive the fire, the other varietals should be ok. That said, any vines that get torched are obviously gone, and some of those are quite old... so it's a huge loss. Edited October 10, 2017 by sullim4
mead107 Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 Will help finger lakes wineries sales? Lot of them suck.
Chef Jim Posted October 10, 2017 Author Posted October 10, 2017 We were wine tasting in Sonoma this past April. I talked to a guy working the tasting bar at Imagery Estates in Glen Ellen that knew Doug Whaley (who was fired the next day). It's really quite sad, a ton of great wine up there and the people are a breath of fresh air compared to the vast majority of crazies in the Bay Area. Expect prices of wine for 2017+ vintages to skyrocket. Imagery.....great bocce ball. They are in the middle of where the fires are. Has the abating of the drought helped or is it still pretty dry. This is some crazy crap... Even OC near Anaheim is getting it. Are you safe from there? Stay safe to all. Just read the story of the 22 year old evacuating his sisters... Had search on internet for an evac route. Gotta get that stuff drilled into your head early when living in wildfire country! :-( When we get a lot of rain it's typically worse. Means there's more vegetation to burn. It's always dry this time of year regardless how much rain we had in the winter. Just more fuel. Conflicting reports are that William Hill and Stag's Leap wineries were destroyed. The Napa and Sonoma grape crops are ruined either way. Can't use the grapes after they've absorbed so much smoke. 90% are off the vines already.
DC Tom Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 90% are off the vines already. Frickin' CNN fake news.
Augie Posted October 10, 2017 Posted October 10, 2017 (edited) Frickin' CNN fake news. It's like "scarce" diamonds and lobster driving the market.... Edited October 10, 2017 by Augie
Chef Jim Posted October 10, 2017 Author Posted October 10, 2017 Frickin' CNN fake news. There's "Fake News" and then there's "We Have No Idea What We're Talking About" news. The issue is not the grapes on the vines. It's have the vines been destroyed. It takes three years for a vine to produce any viable grapes. And the production levels at that age are probably pretty low. So it's the future production of wine that will suffer for many many years. Glad I don't drink anymore or I'd have to get a second job to afford the prices coming up.
Recommended Posts