The fires aren’t the only tragedy plaguing our beloved suppliers this year. “The 2020 Bogle wines will be as enjoyable as always.” “I’m optimistic that we are not going to see negative effects from this kind of haze,” says Eric. Everyone here at Bogle is taking this vintage in stride. “All grape lots harvested this season will be carefully tracked throughout the process: measuring, monitoring and modifying vinification as necessary,” says Eric. Once at the winery, that focus will continue. “Quality remains our first priority, even if that means leaving a few of our fields unharvested.” “Any vineyards which show significant taint issues will not be brought into the winery,” says Chris Smith. The winemaking team will be fermenting small samples of each lot of wine grapes even before they are harvested. We need to assess the grapes quickly to ascertain if there is an issue before allowing the juice to ferment on the skins,” says Eric. “With smoke, the damage is done mostly in the skins. That’s where the work of Eric and his team comes in. “Our vineyards around the state are far enough from these fires that we expect little impact, although we do have one or two grower partners who are closer and who we will watch closely.” “Studies show that the grapes most affected by smoke taint are the ones in closest proximity to fires,” says Chris Smith, Director of Winegrowing. What we are learning is very encouraging.

“From studies done by the Australian Wine Research Institute to our local UC Davis, we are gathering as much data as we can about how these conditions affect the grapes.” “We’ve really been working hard on this,” says VP of Winemaking Eric Aafedt. What is clear is that this vintage will need to be assessed carefully, to ensure that our wines continue to overdeliver in quality as they do each and every vintage. While our estate acres in Clarksburg have stayed safe, we, like nearly every growing region in the state, have been impacted by smoky days. With the rich agricultural land here in the Delta clear of vulnerable trees and underbrush, we remain grateful that we are in an area that is not easily affected by fire. …Please rest assured that we are far from harm’s way here on Merritt Island in the Sacramento River Delta. While these fires now seem to be a yearly occurrence, the timing this season with the beginning of the 2020 harvest creates concern for both wine producers and wine drinkers alike. “The wildfires here in Northern California are once again making international news.

#GlassFire and check the latest tab at the top…there are tons of articles out there as well and they are trying to keep up with everything as it continues to transpire.”

I have found the easiest way to follow the news if you’re interested is to do so on Twitter. It is a scary situation, but thus far, our wineries are harvesting and operational and we couldn’t be more grateful. Our company has nearly 40 people evacuated from their homes and that changes by the announcements of warning and mandatory so it is being closely monitored. Our firefighters continue to amaze us as well as those that are flying in from other parts of the world to help us with this situation.Ĭurrently, the Glass Fire, Shady Fire and Boysen Fire are all burning with no containment and are surrounding the Napa Valley and have made their way into Sonoma County. As wineries and homes are being damaged and destroyed we are grateful as our properties FFCW, FFCW Too!, Inglenook and Domaine de Broglie remain safe and unharmed at the moment. “We are on our second round of fires in our area, the first ones in August that are finally almost out and the most recent ones that started last weekend.

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