Thread: 1000's Feared Crushed as 6.0 Quake Hits California

The 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Northern California on Sunday morning, bringing down thousands of barrels and bottles of high-priced wine, couldn’t have come at a worse time in wine country. The region, which has been battling one of its worst droughts in decades, was preparing for a premature harvest.

The country’s well-known wine-making region, Napa Valley, was at the epicenter of the earthquake responsible for dozens of injuries and damages estimated to surpass $1 billion. And wine that bled out on cellar floors will make up a hefty chunk of the lost revenue. The valley’s more than 500 wineries generate some $13 billion a year for the regional economy, according to Napa Valley Vintners, a trade organization.


Oh, the humanity.....


“It’s devastating. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Tom Montgomery, a winemaker for B.R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen, Calif., told the Associated Press. He said the winery lost “as much as 50 percent” of its wine.

David Oppenheimer, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., told the Wall Street Journal these economic losses could exceed $100 million.

Winemakers were still calculating the damage on Sunday.

Tyler Paradise, general manager of Cult 24 wine bar in Napa, told Reuters he estimates his business lost about $50,000 worth of wine.

At Dahl Vineyards in Yountville, Calif., a barrel containing $16,000 worth of pinot noir smashed to the ground, according to the AP.

Aubrey Bailey, co-owner of Cadet Wine Bar, told the San Francisco Chronicle she estimates the restaurant lost “at least” $15,000 in wine.

The 2014 vino will survive since the harvest season just started.

“All of us are just waiting now to see how bad the damage is in all the warehouses, how much we lost from other years,” said Ariel Ceja of Ceja Vineyards.

Although most reported only mild damage to facilities and equipment, Adam Fox, managing director of Canard Vineyard in Calistoga, told the Los Angeles Times such damage could be catastrophic.


Carnage


“It’s particularly disconcerting this time of year because we’re getting close to harvest and crush,” he said. “You can’t afford damage to your fermentation tank or water lines. If all your barrels came crashing, where are you going to get new ones in time?”

On Sunday, business owners like David Duncan, the president and CEO of Silver Oak, took to social media to show damages.


An Aid worker tries to help..


“The weather is fantastic so far. The quality is fantastic so far. It’s almost as if this year was too good to be true,” Viticulturist Steve Matthiasson told the L.A. Times. “Instead of rain or hail, we had an earthquake to screw it up.”

Big loser in West Coast quake: Napa Valley wineries - The Washington Post

Just talked to my sister-in-law who lives in Mill Valley in Marin, only 42 miles from the Napa epicenter.

She was at home and said she never felt anything...her dogs didn't even wake up.

Thousand of what feared crushed? People or wine?

Where are all the crushed? Under the wine barrels?

Strongest quake in Northern California in 25 years. No deaths. Some minor injuries.

Entire region mourning broken bottles and smashed kegs.

Look on the bright side. Only the good glass bottled stuff is lost. The cheap cask stuff I drink will all have survived!

Might be a market there for Loy Toy.

Californian wine in plastic buckets.

Reminds me of when all the Scotch hit the floor at Kincaids Bar near the SFO airport. One of the best selections in North America stored on racks 20 feet high.

Stralian wine would have been fine as it is kept in boxes?

Originally Posted by Necron99

T




Carnage

Doesn't appear to be much wine spilled there. What's a bet he claims millions in damage on his insurance however.

^Absolutely. The bouquet is bruised.

Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

Just talked to my sister-in-law who lives in Mill Valley in Marin, only 42 miles from the Napa epicenter.

She was at home and said she never felt anything...her dogs didn't even wake up.

Very concentrated movement, as quakes have been known to show.
Then you'll receive one that can be felt very actively for 200 kilometers from the epicenter....

Originally Posted by Koojo

Where are all the crushed? Under the wine barrels?

'1000's of grapes feared crushed...' perhaps?