Local vintners offer support to Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino colleagues

The $1.4 billion dollar wine industry in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties is at stake as wildfires continue to rage in Northern California.

More than a dozen vineyards have either been damaged or destroyed. That includes the historic Beltane Ranch in Sonoma County. The ranch’s owner says some historic structures were lost, but the most important ones were spared. The Paradise Ridge Winery in Sonoma County was not so lucky. Two years of work and nearly 100,000 bottles of wine were destroyed on Sunday night.

Local winemakers said Wednesday it was heartbreaking to watch footage of the flames ripping through the North Bay.

Ian Brand of I. Brand Family Wines knows people up there. Instead of sitting back, he and other local winemakers are stepping up.

“If we can provide a situation where we can take care of some of their winemaking processes while they deal with their lives, the upheaval in their lives, and give them a good platform to rebuild once this blows over, we’d like to help anyway we can,” Brand said.

He has offered to help pick, transport or ferment for any of the affected winemakers.

Right now is a critical time in the winemaking process. A lot of the grapes have already been picked. They still need to be pressed and process, and it can’t be done without power or water. Both are hard to come by for winemakers. Even harder, getting to their property to see the damage.

According to the Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association, the most urgent need has been industrial generators. Without power, growers are unable to pump water out of the ground to fight fires. Odonata Wines is trying to send a generator to the North Bay.

“We have one shot a year,” said Denis Hoey, owner of Odonata Wines. “We don’t get to just order products and make wine every couple of weeks. We have one shot. Those vineyards have been preparing all year for this moment so when you lose that moment and you might even lose that month, it’s a big deal.”

State Vintners Associations are also trying to help. There are tourists and groups that have been scheduled to go to Napa or Sonoma and they are trying to accommodate them as much as they can.

A statewide fundraising campaign is going to be launched, with wineries, restaurants and hotels donating a portion of their proceeds to fire relief efforts.

According to Kim Stemler, the executive director of the MCVGA, there are several wine businesses that have vineyards and winemaking facilities in both Monterey County and either Napa or Sonoma Counties. She said there have been no verified reports of damage to any of those businesses.