(PD) - Normally, Lake County vintners would spend the first week of August gearing up for the oncoming harvest. Now, they find themselves clearing brush to protect their vineyards from flames and keeping a wary eye on clouds of noxious smoke that could taint the taste of their valuable grapes.

As of Tuesday, Lake County wineries and vineyards had escaped the brunt of the Rocky fire, the largest wildfire in California. There have been no reports of damage to the county’s wine industry, though vintners are on edge from the unpredictable blaze that has spewed massive plumes of smoke and ash over Lake County since it erupted July 29.

Previous fires in Wine Country have left their mark on the annual grape crop, imparting a smoky flavor that can easily derail a vintage in the finicky wine marketplace.

So far, smoke damage to the county’s $60 million grape crop is estimated to be “minimal to none,” said Debra Sommerfield, president of the Lake County Winegrape Commission.

“We are feeling fortunate from a grape perspective,” Sommerfield said. “We are keeping our fingers crossed.”

The only problematic day has been Friday, when winds shifted and caused smoke to linger over much of the county for about a half of the day before clearing out, she said. But thanks to favorable winds, smoke has not been much of an issue, winemakers said. Most of the county’s vineyards are located to the west of the fire — which has consumed 67,000 acres southeast of Clear Lake — and winds have flowed mostly from west to east.

Only two wineries near Clearlake Oaks have been shut down by the fire. Cache Creek Vineyards and Noggle Vineyards and Winery were forced to shut their doors as a result of a road closure along the Highway 20 corridor, where the blaze crossed the road Monday on its northward trajectory.

Cal Fire crews constructed a 70-foot-wide containment line along the west side of Cache Creek Vineyards on Tuesday to provide protection from the blaze. At Shannon Ridge Vineyards, work crews cleared brush and dug containment lines on Monday to protect the 2,000-acre ranch, which contains 700 acres of vineyards.

Owner Clay Shannon said he grew nervous Monday night as he saw the western edge of the fire and a large plume of black smoke over a ridge about a mile from his ranch.

“The last afternoon there was scary ... That’s when it’s the worst,” Shannon said. “It’s every afternoon when that wind comes and the humidity is so low.”