By Mike Smith

Fire season has started early in California through a combination of extremely dry conditions and extremely volatile weather. Wineries that had adapted to the new order imposed by the pandemic are managing new challenges with unhealthy air quality, fire in close proximity, evacuations, and possible smoke taint.

There are several resources available for helping and monitoring the situation in California’s northern wine country – this page pulls together a cross-section of relief efforts and updates. Of course, you can continue to support wineries directly by buying their wines.

Along with supporting the people on the front lines, we are also thinking about opportunities for the wine data community to provide increased visibility and analytical insights to help wineries manage through the challenges. As we’ve written before, the wine data community aims to help people form new connections, provide content that enables people to make progress using data in the wine industry, and facilitate advocacy that influences global wine data standards. 

When we open the community in September, we look forward to your contributions in these areas. In the meantime, here are five data-related topics and resources to consider in relation to the California fires.

1. Situational Awareness

Up-to-date information on what is happening, and where it is happening, is essential to near-term planning and action.

• This interactive map by Cal Fire lists incidents and tracks confirmed loss of life, estimated acres burned and structures damaged or destroyed.

• The National Interagency Fire Center initiated this Wildland Fire Open Data site in order to better share maps and data related to wildland fire activities.

• This site reports air quality in California, county by county, using the official U.S. Air Quality Index.

2. Management

When extreme events occur, it can be challenging to know which actions to take. Knowing the baseline metrics for the business helps to identify which measurements are abnormal and identify management strategies. It’s still too soon for most wineries to make this decision, but some wineries may consider changing their 2020 production plans in order to maintain the quality of their wines and their brand. Clear visibility into product margins, inventories, contracts, and the ability to quantitatively weigh trade-offs lead to more informed decisions.

3. Diagnostics

The fires erupted during or before harvest for most wineries in Napa and Sonoma, causing concern for smoke taint. Chemical testing will take on increased importance this season and winemakers in order to assess scientifically the level of impact. ETS labs in St Helena has more specific information.

4. Risk Mitigation

Beyond standard property and casualty insurance, events in 2020 have highlighted risk along winery supply chains and internet-based risks. There is also ongoing debate over insurance coverage on grape crops from previous fires. Records of vineyard activities, fruit deliveries, and associated conditions can help to resolve questions of liability. This resource identifies potential mistakes when choosing winery insurance.

5. Long Term Planning

Extreme volatility in weather and changing climate patterns are contributing to unprecedented changes in planting. (English sparkling wine, anyone?) Emerging technologies enable wineries to analyze climate and geological changes in order to plan for the conditions they will experience in the future. See our previous posts about Saturnalia and Terraview for more information.

Most California wineries remain open and inviting, despite the challenging conditions, and most wineries are selling online at this point. Check with wineries directly if you have questions related to visiting. 

We are looking forward to deeper discussions of wine and data for the benefit of the wine industry as the wine data community comes online in September.