What does the increase in fires mean for good wine?

One of the fascinating things about wine, unlike most things we eat or drink, is that it produces obviously different wines every year. The reputations of some region and vintage combinations, both clearly identified on the label, are irrevocably ruined, sometimes even before harvest.

Burgundy’s 2021 growing season has been such a nightmare for vignerons, who have faced frost, persistent mold and an appallingly long, wet, cool summer, that some merchants and consumers have decided in advance that even wines they would have tasted terrible. More deceive them.

Similarly, the 2014 growing season in Barolo and Barbaresco saw unparalleled rainfall, leading some importers and many aficionados of the region’s associated Nebbiolo grape to forgo that year. Yet the wines turned out to be deliciously subtle. It all depends on the skill of the producers and how selective they are in what they put in the bottle, i.e. how far they are willing to take a financial hit.

This year, just as the grapes were about to be harvested, poor old Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand’s North Island was hit by Cyclone Gabrielle, choking many (but not all) of the vineyards with silt. Yet not all 2023 Hawke’s Bay wines should be rejected. Master of Wine Steve Smith of Smith & Sheth swears he’s harvested a “truly outstanding” Chardonnay from Quinn’s vineyard, for example.

One of the most obviously marred vintages is 2020 along the US West Coast, where a record-breaking dry summer sparked terrible wildfires from Washington state to Southern California. The legacy of those fires, aside from a tragic loss of life, was a sky so thick with smoke and for so long that there were dramatic effects on air quality and sunlight.

That was a hangover from the more than 10,000 lightning bolts over the weekend of Aug. 15 that struck drought-drained California and set so much land on fire. By the end of the summer, after the so-called Glass Fire that hit for good measure in late September, a total of 4.2 million acres had burned, including wineries and vineyards. It was tough being a climate change denier in 2020 in California, which had already experienced extreme wildfires in 2017.

Initially in mid-August, the wind in Napa and Sonoma was blowing eastward, blowing smoke away from most of the vineyards. It remained at an altitude of approximately 5,000 feet for a full 10 days. But by the end of the month, smoking had dropped to such a low level that staff at some Napa Valley wineries were provided with respirator masks.

It had been such a hot summer that most of the white wine grapes and some Pinot Noirs had been harvested before the fires took hold. But Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa’s pride and joy, is a late-ripening variety, and the fashion for many years was to keep the grapes on the vine for extra “hold time” to soften the tannins. reducing the acidity and ensuring there was none of the leafiness associated with less ripe Cabernet.

Then came the trouble. As one red wine producer recalled, “On August 26, the smoke came down, so the red wine harvest was over.” This, the producer added, came after long periods of unbelievable heat. “Even though the fruit was clean, the vines were so tired and stressed.”

The smoke persists. Australia has a long history of bushfires, so wine scientists have had many years to contend with a phenomenon known as smoke contamination. Grapes and wines may seem unaffected at first, but they can start to develop a range of strange flavors. This is the product of compounds that develop during fermentation or maturation.

As smoke became an apparent danger to California grapes, winemakers began reaching out to their Australian counterparts who might be able to advise them. Then came the rush to send grape and wine samples to laboratories for analysis.

The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that such a large percentage of California grapes are purchased by winegrowers rather than grown by the producers themselves, leading to disagreements over producers’ right to reject grapes. Insurance brokers have been swamped. And American laboratories were so overwhelmed that winemakers were forced to send samples all over the world.

All of this was happening during the early stages of a pandemic. But, as Napa Valley Vintners CEO Linda Reiff points out, “Nobody thought about Covid in the wildfires. Three of our 20 employees have lost their homes.” Survival became the imperative; the quality of the wine was a detail.

But the team at Napa Valley’s flagship Harlan Estate, led by Cory Empting, had time to think about it. “It was disheartening to see the smoke column from the fires, even though it was at least drifting away from the valley,” Empting told me. “But the wind could change at any moment, so we tasted the grapes and decided to harvest, harvesting a quarter of the estate on the first day, August 22nd. In the old days we expected to harvest 30 days after veraison [when the grapes turn from green to red] but in 2020 we collected only 15 days later”.

This was possible because for some years there had been a transition to dryland farming rather than the irrigation which is routine in much of California. This has resulted in smaller grapes, reducing the size of the crop, but also leading to earlier ripening.

Expecting the wine to be scarce, Empting was surprised by its quality, depth and finesse. “You find out you got it all wrong, which is kind of embarrassing and revealing at the same time.” The Harlan Estate of 2020, which won’t be released for another year, is certainly a revelation.

Those who follow organic or biodynamic practices also see their grapes ripen earlier than their neighbors. So the likes of Cathiard, Frog’s Leap, Quintessa and Spottswoode were able to pick relatively early and sidestep the worst effects of the fires and smoke.

While in Napa Valley recently, I asked the winegrowers’ organization to put out a call for samples of 2020 Cabernets for me to taste, as I was finding it hard to believe they were all disastrous. Many producers do not release any at all, and no one will boast of a bumper harvest, but among the 48 wines presented, I found many very respectable wines. Check the box for recommendations on what are great wines by any measure, albeit at the steep Napa Valley prices.

I detected no signs of a smoke odor on any of them (it would surely have been a foolish producer to present a faulty wine) and was quite intrigued by the promise in the base notes on the lovely Gallica specimen: “Harvested on September 18th. Smoke odor analysis available upon request.

If these 2020 Cabs have one general flaw, it is literal: they lack the delicious long finish of the best Napa Cabs. Otherwise, they should be enjoyable, as long as they are not enjoyed alongside the much-hyped 2021s.

Tasting notes, scores and suggested drink dates on Purple Pages of JancisRobinson.com. Some international wholesalers on Wine-searcher.com

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