Northern California grape growers begin to face smoke taint damages

Nov 3, 2017

(SFChronicle) - The Bucklin family’s relationship with Constellation Brands stretches back more than three decades. That’s how long Constellation — a global wine corporation expected to generate $7.33 billion in revenue this year, and owner of California wine brands like Robert Mondavi and Ravenswood — has bought grapes from Old Hill Ranch, the Bucklins’ 35-acre Sonoma Valley vineyard. But after this year’s wildfires, for the first time ever, Constellation rejected the Old Hill fruit.

 
Smoke taint.
 
Throughout Wine Country, as the harrowing 2017 harvest nears its end, small-scale growers like Bucklin are facing a harsh reality: Wineries may not be willing to buy their product because they don’t want to sell smoke-tainted wines to consumers. When that happens, it’s largely not the wineries that take the hit, but the growers.

Share: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Furl Facebook Google Yahoo Twitter

Comments:

 
Leave a comment





Advertisement