(Wines&Vines) - Media reporting and images may have left many with the impression that Sonoma and Napa wine country was laid to waste by October firestorms, but only weeks later, a different picture has emerged. Tourists are returning to hotels and tasting rooms, welcomed by staff eager to see business return to normal.

Sebastopol, Calif.-based Kosta-Browne Wines is open by appointment. The 18,000-case winery and vineyards remain intact. Still, there is deep loss: Co-founder Dan Kosta’s home in Santa Rosa was destroyed, and he’s now living in a fifth-wheel trailer near the winery.