(WineSpectator) - As wine regions around the world face the immediate effects of devastating fires, the threat of smoke taint is a slow burn.

It's only been a few weeks since wildfires ravaged parts of Northern California and Spain and Portugal. Washington and Oregon have also suffered widespread fires this fall. The full extent of property damage has yet to be assessed, and recovery efforts are in full swing. But there's another concern in the backs of vintners' minds: How will the 2017 vintage be impacted by the clouds of smoke that blanketed vineyards for days?

Smoke taint can ruin a wine. There's no evidence it can make you sick, but the flavors associated with heavy smoke taint are enough to deter consumers from taking the risk on a wine that might be affected.

Of course, the problem of unpalatable wines pales in comparison to the devastation faced by some wineries, to say nothing of the families and businesses that have lost everything.

Fortunately for Northern California's 2017 vintage, most of the grapes had been harvested by the time the fires broke out there. Vintners in Spain's Galicia region report they had also finished harvest before the local fires ignited.