(Wines&Vines) - Since destroying one vineyard in Monterey County, the Soberanes Fire has continued to blaze uncontrolled since late July.

The fire has scorched nearly 70,000 acres, and Cal Fire reports it is only 50% contained. The fire is in an especially rugged part of Monterey County near Big Sur, making it difficult to contain but also keeping the fire and smoke away from the majority of the county’s vineyards.

That was not the case for Big Sur Vineyard, which was destroyed July 25. The fire also has destroyed 57 homes, caused three injuries and claimed the life of a bulldozer operator helping to control the fire. Cal Fire has tracked the cause back to an illegal campfire.

While more wineries and vineyards don’t appear to be threatened by the flames, the smoke continues to be a worry. According to the Wines Vines Analytics winery database, Monterey County is home to 78 wineries, and 19 of those have a zip code of 93924, which would put them in or near Carmel Valley, the appellation closest to the fire.

Wines & Vines has been in touch with a few winemakers there who have reported smoke in their vineyards but as yet don’t know if there’s been any contamination from it.

‘Persistent’ smoke in the Carmel Valley

Dean De Korth is the winemaker and director of production for Bernardus Vineyards & Winery, which produces around 50,000 cases per year and owns 200 vineyard acres. He said the winery has 7 acres in the lower Carmel Valley about evenly split between Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as well as about 50 acres in the upper valley (the warmer Cachagua Valley) that is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties.