Which Wineries Were Destroyed By Fire In California?

As fires ripped through California’s Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties this week, some of the regions most prominent wineries have been affected by the flames. Some 17 fires spread across Northern California this week, burning more than 115,000 acres and putting many wineries in danger of destruction.

Napa Valley Vinters and Sonoma County Vinters were updated by hundreds of the wineries regarding their status in the wake of the fires It appeared at least four wineries in Napa County were significantly or completely destroyed, while at least one in Sonoma County suffered a total loss, CNBC reported.

In Napa, the Signorello winery appeared to be largely destroyed, according to SF Gate. Proprietor Ray Signorello, who also lives on the property, said he planned to rebuild.

“It’s like getting punched in the stomach,” Signorello’s sommelier Ronald Plunkett told CNBC Tuesday, noting that the winery’s Chardonnay vines were 38 years old. “This is devastating to us because this is kind of our home.”

White Rock Vineyards was also damaged significantly and was “likely lost,” employees told SF Gate. Other wineries in the county, like William Hill and Stags’ Leap, appeared to have been damaged as well, though the full extent was not yet clear.

In Sonoma County, the Paradise Ridge winery had completely burned down.

“We are heartbroken to share the news that our winery was burned down this morning,” Paradise Ridge wrote on its Facebook page Monday alongside photos of the entirely decimated vineyard and facility.

Nicholson Ranch, Chateau St. Jean, Mayo Family Wineries and Gundlach Bundschu Winery appeared to have escaped the worst of the damage.

Mendocino County’s Frey Vineyards Winery and Oster Wine Cellars both appeared to have been largely destroyed by the fires.

At least 15 people have been killed as a result of the fires, though Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said he expected that number to rise in the coming days. More than 1,500 structures were destroyed, while some 20,000 people were evacuated from their homes in the path of the flames that seared through 115,000 acres of land. Sonoma County authorities said they received somewhere around 200 missing persons reports.