The 2020 wildfires in Northern California, Oregon and Washington affected communities across the Western U.S. and struck a wine industry already staggering from tariffs, the novel coronavirus pandemic and labor shortages. Climate change has contributed to these extreme weather events increasingly becoming the norm.

As scientists grapple with causes, and governments with cures, many wine professionals ask, What’s next for wine country? Can the industry adapt to recurring devastation?

When the LNU Lightning Complex Fire cut through Northern California in August, winery workers were in the middle of harvest.

“The firefighters were performing heroics battling the fires, growers and vintners were performing heroics ensuring the fruit was harvested and vinted without smoke impact,” says Jim Cargill, winemaker atHouse Family Vineyards, and president of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association. “This was not an easy process, as labs were overwhelmed with testing demands. While initial quality was high, monitoring and testing of the wines will continue as they evolve and mature over the next few months.” READ MORE HERE.