No, there's no opportune time for a wildfire. These lightning strike fires in the Bay Area have come just about the time many are wanting to begin picking their grapes. The main wine areas affected are parts of Sonoma, Napa, and Santa Cruz.
The sparkling wine producers started picking before the fires and are now processing the grapes, as fruit for sparkling is picked earlier (less ripe) than for still wine. Korbel, for instance, had to evacuate right in the middle of picking. Some fruit is still on the vines, some is in the cellar, as everyone had to evacuate. Korbel's head winemaker said, "We're still waiting for locusts," because in the year of Covid-19 worries what else can go wrong?
Many other wineries and lots of vineyards are in mandatory evacuation zones so the fruit sits on the vines and waits. The good news is some regions in Sonoma were opened back up Sunday, Aug 23rd, but most areas of Sonoma and Napa that are in or near the fires remain closed. So for vineyards in evac zones the fruit cannot get picked when it's at optimal ripeness and for cellars in evac areas fruit cannot be brought in and processed.
Early ripening grapes that should be picked soon include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir plus anything to be used for sparkling wines.
It looks like it will be awhile before anyone can return to many of the vineyards and wineries as these fires aren't yet contained and won't be for awhile. It's going to be another "interesting" year.
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