80% Loss of Wine Due to Glass Fire ?

Seems a bit high?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-06/napa-fire-update-estimated-80-of-cabernet-lost-to-fire-smoke

No. most was picked according to my eye.

Glad you are ok, but I don’t understand what you mean by no .

Is that answer to my question. ? Or your opinion of the article ?

The 80% figure seems to come from “Melka estimates that 80% of vineyards may be affected” by smoke. That won’t necessarily translate to “80% of Napa Cabernet May Be Lost to Fire and Smoke” if indeed many vineyards had been picked already.

Just my interpretation of the article plus Merrill’s comment plus other mentions of growers trying to pick ahead of the heat wave that was occurring just before the fires.

How about the August smoke issues? Is it a total tally between the glass fire and the august smoke?

Just curious,

JF

Maybe my title was misleading.

Whatever %, it is all bad. Lives impacted, possessions lost, wineries to clean and possibly repair or rebuild, vineyard damage and reduced cash flow from the vintage. It is a tough one.

melka said 80% ‘affected.’ that seems like a fair estimate depending on how you define the word.

The question is truly about smoke taint and how much of the grapes picked before the Glass Fire have smoke taint.

First I have to tell you that you are not old, and now I need to make you think positively!
It’s not all bad! I had a firt set of labs come back that look good! Yes, some homes and wineries were lost, and no one knows yet how much cash flow is going to be affected. We are still in the middle of this! Certaily any fruit left hanging for the last 10 days here in Napa Valley is toast. Vineyards are dropping the fruit to the Valley floor as I type. More later. Positive thoughts only!

Merrill, yes I am not old , and I am positive in general. I am hoping that these fires have removed that “fuel” that has collected for decades and that good clean seasons are coming. Glad you made it beck to an intact home!

There will be some lovely wines made in 2020 - mainly from fruit picked before or just after the first fire. Most of what was hanging during the Glass fire won’t see a bottle and that includes most cabernet. We picked a few vineyards (mostly from Rutherford) and those wines are beautiful and the labs support they are clean. But we rejected a lot of fruit (we make 10 different wines) and will have BIG holes in our portfolio this year. Mountains got hit pretty hard and that tends to be late ripening fruit. Putting a percentage on the loss is a bit premature as wineries are still assessing and making decisions.

Well said, Karen. I am still in the waiting game. I think I will be ok as I picked on September 8 - the day before the “orange day,” which many of us will never forget.