$3.24 Billion Question: CA Grape Growers Assess 2020 Fire Damage

Wildfires in California in the last year “severely impacted harvest” for vineyard operators, with many destroyed by flames in Napa and Sonoma, severely shortening the state’s $3.24 billion wine grape crop. Growers and industry members continue taking stock of those losses as the 2021 growing season gets underway, with some reporting grapes that are testing positive for smoke taint, a condition that causes grapes to absorb “acrid, sooty” flavor characteristics from smoke from the fires. Some grape varieties have shown more susceptible to the condition than others and will likely cause tight supplies for some wines in a marketplace already shortened by sheer losses from the wildfires. See more on the California wine grape situation.