A plume rises over a vineyard in unincorporated Napa County as the Hennessey Fire burns on Tuesday, August 18. Fire has been cruel to Northern California wine country lately. Lightning-sparked wildfires west of Sonoma County and east of Napa two weeks ago coincided with the start of the harvest for some grape varieties. That can lead to “smoke taint,” an undesirable burnt taste in wine made from grapes with skins permeated by smoke. “It’s almost like we’ve accepted that these situations are happening way too often in Sonoma County,” Tesconi said.

Source: The Standard August 31, 2020 04:16 UTC