Many Lake County winegrape growers have been testing their fruit over the past few days. Results so far have shown no elevated levels of guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol which correlate to smoke flavors.
Westerly winds have moved much of the smoke away from vineyard acreage. The cool 50 to 60 degree temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday combined with light rain on Wednesday kept the fruit in sound condition.
It is estimated that 85 percent of Lake County’s vineyards have not been affected directly by the fire.
Vineyard managers and employees are gaining access to resume irrigation and harvest operations. Beckstoffer Vineyards’ Amber Knolls returned to harvest Wednesday evening, according to General Manager Pedro Rubio.
“We are an experienced and resilient farm community and are committed to delivering the highest quality grapes despite these challenging conditions,” said Lake County Winegrape Commission President Debra Sommerfield.
Access to properties and restoration of power in the southern part of Lake County remains dependent upon on-going firefighting operations.
Since the start of the fire, vineyard reservoirs have been used as a source of water for fire-fighting efforts. Monica Rosenthal, owner of R Vineyards, said, “We are grateful that firefighters were able to fill their water tanks from our reservoir to help fight the fire.” The vineyards, located south of Middletown, also acted as a fire break helping to stop the fire from moving south toward Twin Pine Casino and beyond.
As of midweek, 90 percent of Lake County wineries in the fire-affected area have been able to resume operations or should be able to process fruit in this vintage, thanks to the enormous efforts of firefighters.
“I will be making wine tomorrow,” said winery owner Greg Graham on Wednesday. “My employees were able to get back in yesterday, and today we are focusing on getting ready to harvest fruit tomorrow morning.”
Graham’s winery was affected by road closures.
Jacquelyn Farrington, Director of Hospitality at Six Sigma Ranch & Winery reported that Brassfield has offered help with Six Sigma’s crush while the Ranch is still closed. They crushed Malbec at Brassfield on Thursday. “While we have some access to the Ranch and know that our wines are safe and we have not suffered damage, we do not have power to run the crush equipment,” noted Farrington. “Matt Hughes, winemaker at Six Sigma is working closely with Jason Moulton, winemaker at Brassfield, to make sure that our final crush operations can proceed.”
Jerry Brassfield, owner of Brassfield Estate Winery said, “I am happy to help Kaj Alhmann (Six Sigma Ranch & Winery) anytime. I realize how important community is at a time like this and am so impressed with the way that people are handling this disaster. The Lake County community response is nothing short of remarkable.”
While vineyard operations and wineries are working to get back online, some employees are dealing with the loss of their homes. “We are deeply saddened by the reports of employees in the Lake County wine industry who have lost their homes but grateful for their safety,” said Lake County Winery Association Executive Director Terry Dereniuk. “The stories of loss are heartbreaking.”
