The head of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation says the loss from Sunday's earthquake could have been much worse for many Northern California wineries.
Jim Trezise says he's still waiting to hear from some of his vintner friends in Napa Valley about the damage their businesses suffered. But Trezise says the timing of the earthquake was fortunate. That's because many of the wine barrels would have been emptied for the coming harvest.
"They need the room in the tanks for the harvest that's about to start and come in. So the tanks are basically empty, which is good news,” Trezise said. “That's because if, instead, the tanks were damaged by the quake, they would have cracked and the wine would have leaked out, and that would have been a huge loss."
Trezise says Sunday's quake is a reminder that wine makers are farmers who are at the mercy of the weather.
"They have to deal with earthquake; we had to deal with the really cold winter which is going to reduce the crop this year in the Finger Lakes. So, it's a risky business."
Trezise says there is a friendly comradery between the Finger Lakes wine makers and their California counterparts. He says he will do anything he can do to help his friends at wineries in the Napa Valley recover from the earthquake.
Victor-based Constellation Brands, which has some operations in that part of California, issued this statement:
"We are still assessing the full extent of the earthquake’s impact on our operations; however, at this point we believe the impact to be minor. Most importantly, we are relieved that our employees and their families are all safe, and we are fortunate that the earthquake occurred overnight when our facilities were closed. While there has been minor damage reported inside some of our Northern Californian wineries, none of them have sustained structural damage, and our vineyards have not been impacted. Our thoughts are with the residents of Napa as they begin cleanup efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake."
