ADVERTISING: Advertorial — The aftermath… And other reader questions
Now that the Glass Fire has been extinguished and fire season around the West is calming down, we have received quite a few questions on the aftermath of the fires in California, on everything from what to expect in wine pricing to how much wine will actually be made from the 2020 vintage, to long term effects to vineyards and wineries.
The fires of 2020, like those back in 2017, were devastating to wine country. What made this past year worse was how early the fires season started. Fires starting in late August and early September meant that the “lion’s share” of the wine grape crop was still in the vineyard. It was also after veraison, making the grapes the most susceptible to smoke taint. It was a worst-case scenario. As far as wine pricing though, the effects will be very limited. The wine market today is simply too global to have many long-term effects on prices. While little wine will be made from Northern California in the 2020 growing year, that supply constraint will be mitigated by wine coming from other places, both domestic and old world. Like 2017, what you are likely to see is certain wine varietals or the complete lineup from specific wineries being unavailable. It will be more widespread than in 2017. While prices may be higher by time California 2020 wines are released, it won’t be the result of the fires.
The level of wine production from 2020 will certainly be down and will be down more for late ripening red grapes than lighter bodied red varietals and white wines. It will also be spotty. Amazingly, there were places that were relatively smoke free. Estimates are sitting around 45% for the size of the harvest versus historical averages. I actually think that might be a bit optimistic, especially in how it relates to red varietals.
Mitigating the short fall though, are reports from some of the more prominent wineries on the Napa Valley floor and some located high in the Mayacamas and other mountain ranges that have come through the widespread fires with no crop damage. It is remarkable to think that any grape crop could have come through the fires this year with no damage, but it sounds like it. The Wine Spectator has taken the position of not naming names of who will and won’t make wine in order to give all the wineries time to cope with the devastation. We agree with that stance and won’t speculate at this time about who will and won’t produce 2020 wines. We will keep you posted going forward.
Vineyards have not sustained much, if any, long-term damage. Grape vines hold too much water to burn, and like in 2017, the vineyards actually provided a fire break, giving fire fighters a better chance at protecting structures in Wine Country. Similarly, next year’s grape crop barring any repeat of this year’s fires should be fine. Smoke taint only affects the crop that is on the vine at the time. Damage to structures has been widespread, including many winery buildings and Meadowood and some other resorts; devastating losses. Most wineries, resorts and others suffering damage have pledged to rebuild, but it will take considerable time for Wine Country to be back up and running at its pre-fire pace.
Moving on from fire related questions, we have received many questions lately on wine allergies. Many identify sulfites as the reason for their allergic reactions to wine. Sulfites make for an easy target, but the cause of wine allergies is far less clear. Sulfites occur in wine naturally during fermentation, so to get a wine free of all sulfites results in a wine being more artificially manipulated. While European winemakers generally use less added sulfites than their American counterparts, sulfites are still present.
The best way to determine what you are reacting to in wine is to first determine if you react to both reds and whites similarly. If you only react to reds, chances are you are reacting to something other than sulfites, since both colors of wine contain sulfites. If you only react to red, chances are you are reacting to either tannins or perhaps the yeast strain used in the wine production.
Similarly, if you are not reacting to all wines, it is also likely sulfites are not the culprit, since there are few sulfite free wines. Chances are it is related to the different yeast strains that are used or some other factor. Your only choice then, is to start to chronicle which wines treat you better or worse and base your consumption patterns on that information.
Keep the questions coming, we will answer all we can.
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George Balling is co-owner with his wife, Mary Lancaster, of the dinner party, a wine and gift shop in Coeur d’Alene by Costco. The dinner party has won the award for best wine shop in North Idaho twice, including for 2018. George is also published in several other publications around the country. After working in wineries in California and judging many wine competitions, he moved to Coeur d’Alene with Mary more than 10 years ago to open the shop. You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop