There isn’t a lot of specific information coming from California about vineyard damage from the extensive wild fires. From the reports I’ve seen in West Coast newspapers, Monterey County and Santa Lucia Highlands are harder hit than Sonoma and Napa valleys.

But the fire damage to the vineyards pales in comparison to the smoke damage to the grapes. Vineyards are a natural fire break because they just don’t burn like dry brush and undergrowth. At worse, a couple of rows on the fringes may burn but they’ll come back the following year. The damage is from smoke taint which clings to the grapes and eventually marries with the sugar. Smoke taint can’t be artificially removed and unfortunately it may not manifest itself until fermentation.

Grape growers are sending their grapes to labs for testing, but labs are warning that the backlog is causing 30-day delays. That leaves winemakers in a quandary: do they proceed or just drop fruit?

Wine grapes are less susceptible than red because they don’t stay with the crush for long. Red grapes, however, sit on the juice for many days, thus allowing the taint to permeate the juice. Worse, pinot noir skins are thin and sensitive. Areas like Santa Lucia Highlands, Russian River Valley, and Monterey will see a huge loss in its pinot noir crop.

The impact of the fires is simply too early to tell.