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| Like an aged farmer, old zinfandel vines have seen it before. |
In those early hours nothing else seemed to matter. Survival was what bulldozed everything else. Lack of sleep gets replaced by adrenaline, fear of the unknown draws you closer to someone, anyone. For the local wine industry, the first days of the October firestorm brought with it the heavy concerns of loss of precious resources, including vineyard life. Ultimately for some a question is raised, "what do you drink when threatened by a wild fire"? For many of us the answer is of course, "everything"! We lift a glass to present our sorrows, and cheer then for the resilience of the long-lived grape vine.
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| theblaze.com |
Part of the life of man since Neolithic times, nurtured in Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, the domesticated grape vine,
Vitis Vinifera, is ingrained as part of classical antiquity. Over its cultivated existence the vine has proven to be buoyant and tough, an example of flora that can be quick to recover. Near the end of the 2017 grape harvest the vineyards of our wine country encountered historical stress and destruction due to savage fires that consumed locally almost 200,000 acres in
Sonoma,
Napa,
Mendocino and
Lake counties. Fires that burn around the grapevine trunk are likely to kill the vine, but most vineyards survived, dealing with many dark days of smoke and ash. These same smoke compounds can be found in toasted oak wine barrels, and those ash residues can be rich in nutrients potassium and calcium. Now, across the
North Coast AVA the vineyard's top soil has changed. Inspection, soil testing and needed nutrients to feed the soil will follow, along with constant monitoring for the vines foreseeable future. Just under that exterior bark of the vine lies its vascular system, thru which it gets life sustaining water and nutrients. If undamaged the irrepressible vine should recover, but as with all injuries it will take time. Those vineyards that were lost will take years to grow back, and premium grape farming will survive.
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| A brighter spring in Carneros AVA |
Across its long, cultivated history the wine vine has consistently demonstrated the ability to recover. It is by its nature a survivor, driven almost singularly to reproductive growth. Combined with a historically sparce 2017 harvest throughout much of Europe, the once inflating industry is now facing yet again new challenges within the expanding global marketplace. This cycle, too, will recover. But, it will take time. Just like us, the rebound from a traumatic health event will change things in our life cycle and will take sometimes many years to return to what had been familiar. As a long time local grape farmer once said to me, "we have seen it all before".
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| Burgundy vineyards cycle a return to 'normal' in 2017 |
As we move forward, there will still be good local wine on the shelf or wine list, and consumers may even be influenced to expand their wine knowledge or regions of interest. Just like the vine, the local industry will endure and rebound, and eventually the wild fires of 2017 will be in the rear-view mirror. As of this writing it is still burning in the hills somewhere. Locally, the hum of fire fighting aircraft is slowly being replaced by the distraction of abrupt jackhammers and heavy equipment. Locals continue to renew normal routines, and fortunately, cellar workers return to their craft. Yet the smell of smoke lingers in the air, and we remain vigilant just like the wine growers on Sicily's Mt. Etna. They make good wines there, too. Now that's historically resilient drinking!
Salute!
Wine Links:
https://www.winesandvines.com/sections/printout_article.cfm?article=feature&content=158351
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2017/10/global-wine-production-to-fall-to-56-year-low/
http://winesofsicily.com/
