With the damage estimate to the Napa Valley wine industry from August’s 6.0 magnitude earthquake pegged at $80 million and expected to keep growing, vintners and other industry players are banding together to minimize the fallout.
Though some estimates suggest that 60 percent of Napa’s wineries sustained damage ranging from $50,000 to several million dollars from the quake, which struck at 3 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, supporting businesses like shipping and warehousing reportedly were a good deal more fortunate, sustaining less damage than might be expected. And some vintners have already revised their damage estimates downward as they continued to assess the effects of the quake.
Many vintners whose wineries escaped relatively unscathed have offered help to their not-so-lucky colleagues, everything from free storage space for barrels to use of winemaking equipment to donations of services. And the Napa Valley Vintners association has founded the Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund, pledging $10 million to get it up and running, as well as creating an online database of relief organizations.
As if to add insult to injury, a freak rain and hailstorm in late September slammed the county, though it was mostly confined to the Brown’s Valley area near the world-famous Carneros region. Luckily, most grapes had already been picked, and though some Cabernet Sauvignon grapes remained on the vine, it’s a hardy varietal that held up well under Mother Nature’s onslaught.
Now if war, famine and pestilence will just take a vacation, everything should be okay.