Napa County grape grower Dave Wilson inspects new growth on his vines. Most of his vineyards suffered fire damage last year, and he harvested less than half of his grapes because of smoke exposure. Photo/Kevin Hecteman

Grape Growers Tackle Fire Recovery, Drought

Apr 14, 2021 at 8:00am

Kevin Hecteman

Too much fire and not enough water have made winegrape-growing efforts more challenging than usual for Dave Wilson and other North Coast farmers.

After losing crops to severe wildfires and accompanying smoke last year, farmers monitor bud break in their vineyards amid concerns about drought and the potential for more fires in 2021.

The LNU Complex wildfire last August affected nearly 90% of Wilson's Napa County vineyards, creeping along the vineyard floor and forcing him to replace some 600 vines.

Wilson described the blaze as "a very, very long fire line that was just relentless and continued to wrap around. It stretched for miles long, and it just crossed over onto our ranch all at once."

His father, Terry, bulldozed firebreaks, and the ranch's homes and buildings were saved with the help of firefighters from Napa and Ventura counties.

As a result of the fire, Wilson said, he harvested only 40% of his grapes last year—the remainder were lost to smoke-exposure concerns. He said he also lost infrastructure, including fencing and end posts, and has had a lot of trellis repairs.

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