Itâs been a difficult year for wine grape producers in Napa Valley, data from the Silicon Valley Bankâs annual state of the industry report confirms.
More than 55% of the reportâs Napa Valley respondents described a wine grape harvest of âbelow averageâ or âpoorâ quality, according to the report, which was released Wednesday morning. Nearly 75% of those same respondents said their crop yield â the amount of wine grapes produced and deemed acceptable for harvest â was lower than average or even their lowest ever, the report shows.
Thatâs due almost entirely to the two destructive wildfires that ravaged Napa County in 2020 â especially the Glass Fire, smoke from which purportedly leeched into much of the countyâs wine grape crop this year. The impact of that sudden drop in production because of smoke taint was cushioned by an existing oversupply in the wine and grape market, according to Rob McMillan, founder and executive v