What Do Winemakers Worry About? In Napa It's Not Wildfires.

Rolando Herrera of Mi Sueno Winery, NapaMi Sueno Winery

During a recent visit to Napa Valley I quizzed winemakers on the thing that they worry most about with regard to winemaking- --it’s worth noting not a single person said “wildfires.” Indeed, this month marks the one year anniversary of last year’s terrible wildfires but winemakers have other, bigger worries on their minds. Last year's overwhelming media coverage of the wildfires gave the illusion of utter devastation when in fact 90% of Napa Valley’s grape tonnage was harvested before the wine country wildfires started. There were instances of absolutely terrible loss—Signorello Estate being one—but most of Napa and Napa's wineries remained untouched. Today, winemakers fret over everything from climate change and the rise of cannabis to the challenges of running a family business in such a competitive industry...they do not worry about wildfires. Below are some insights into what is really on their minds:

Dennis Cakebread of Cakebread Cellars: There are a few things that are constantly on my mind. The first being the weather and our inaction on climate change. It seems our weather is more extreme—whether droughts, floods, high winds or high temperatures. We need to recognize that we won't get a 'do-over' on this, so we should make clear positive action now. Additionally, changing consumer trends. Between recreational cannabis becoming legal and understanding generational taste changes, I’m concerned with the ever-changing tastes of the consumer. Finally, being an entrepreneur, what about the little guys- do they get squeezed out? With the 30 largest wineries selling 90% of all wine, is the remaining 10% enough for the other 9,970 wineries?

Rolando Herrera of Mi Sueno Winery: I worry about my health! I don’t worry about the things I cannot control like nature, but now that I have all of the pieces of my life in place, I worry about being here to enjoy and take care of it all.

Renderings of the new Signorello EstateSignorello Estate

Ray Signorello of Signorello Estate (which burned down in last year’s fires): Being a winemaker is a bit like being a quarterback; quarterbacks analyze the field to figure out what decisions, passes and plays to make. Each year, harvest is a moving target with different growing seasons, so I worry about the two most important dates of the year for red wines: picking and pressing dates, and each year I hope I’m making the right decisions.”

Justin Hirigoyen of Spring Mountain Vineyard: I worry about not seeing the forest through the trees, especially during harvest. When you have 135 distinct growing blocks like we do at Spring Mountain Vineyard, there is a lot of detail and data to process and reason through. Winemaking is always a compromise so sometimes it’s better to make a decision that might not seem like the absolute best in the moment, but that will pay off in the long run or in the bigger picture. Every vintage is different, and you must constantly remind yourself that your conception of what the next day or week might bring could be totally wrong.

Carlo Trinchero of Trinchero Napa Valley and Managing Director of Trinchero Family Estates’ Heritage Wine Collection: I worry about maintaining a successful family business. It can be challenging as we see consolidation everywhere in the industry. We’re focused on growing a business that my grandparents founded 70 years ago – one that has always been about giving consumers what they want to drink. It’s important to us that we continue to give consumers value, even as we see the price of grapes and grape-growing rise in key regions around the world.

Emma Swain of St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery: This might be a common or obvious answer, but in the wine business we are farmers first and always at the whims of Mother Nature. At St. Supery the weather is so important to us we have five monitoring stations on our two vineyards. These provide up-to-the-minute conditions and combined with our long-range forecasts provide the necessary data for planning our detailed vineyard work. While many people are obsessed with checking their devices too often for social media, vintners are probably equally obsessed, especially around harvest time, but we’re checking the weather, not Facebook.

Signorello Estate post-fireSignorello Estate

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