This is largely because winemakers identified the smoke-affected grapes and newly fermented wines and chose not to put them on the market unless they could be corrected by processing. Our blind tastings to date of 97 Napa- and Sonoma-grown Cabernet Sauvignons submitted for review turned up no bottles with the blatant ashtray smell and doused campfire aftertaste that can make smoke-tainted wines undrinkable. (Reds, which are fermented with their skins, are a different story.) White wines were generally not problematic since many of them were harvested before the fires, and whites are not fermented in contact with grape skins, which are what absorb smoke from the air. However, surprisingly little of this shows up in the 2020 products that were eventually bottled and sold. A significant portion of grapes and wine made from the vintage exhibited smoke effects during the harvest and fermentation period.
Several firefighters and residents died and thousands of structures were destroyed, including winery facilities. The wildfires did have a major, disruptive economic and health impact on people who live and work in the wine regions. Decorative Wine Racks & Modular Systems.
