Sigh of Relief

For wineries and all the related businesses throughout California wine country, that is:

"The storm was so intense and arrived so quickly that people were unprepared to protect their assets," Jennifer Kopp, executive director of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, said yesterday. "But there won't be any negative effect on the quality or quantity of next year's grapes or wines."

That is because the grape harvest ended in mid-November and the vineyards in the Northern California wine country - along with vineyards and agricultural crops in the San Joaquin Valley and near the Monterey Coast - are mostly dormant at this time of year and able to survive massive floods, even if the waters take a month to recede.

A bigger problem is vineyard and road cleanup, said Gladys Horiuchi, a spokeswoman for the Wine Institute, a public policy and lobbying group.

"Grape production shouldn't be affected," said Ms. Horiuchi. "But tourists will be reluctant to go up to the wine country for months, even though the roads will be cleared in a few days."

This is quite unlike the situation that befell Long Island's wineries, which experienced torrential rains (10+ inches within a week) that inundated vineyards within weeks of the harvest last October. And even there, the situation isn't as bad as it could have been.

And if you're a fan of New York wines, Lenn Thompson is the blog to check out - it's devoted to the New York vino. Bigtime.