By Madisen Keavy
EL DORADO COUNTY (CBS13) — Smoke from the Caldor Fire can be smelled or tasted in some grapes harvested in El Dorado County — but they won’t make it in the bottle.
Firefighters began battling the Caldor Fire on Aug. 14. In total, it burned 221,835 acres – making it the 15th largest fire in recorded California history.
At its height, smoke from the fire filled the air of El Dorado County and hung over neighboring wineries for weeks at a time. Some that were closer to the epicenter of the fire saw thick fog-like smoke for several days in a row. Other wineries, further removed from the burn site, experienced smoke until the afternoon, and then it cleared.
The location and type of grape on the vine at the time resulted in a “stronger” smoke flavor during harvest.
“The damage is bad. I would say it’s bad,” said Fernando Abarca, winemaker at Miraflores Winery.
Abarca said the winery made the decision to harvest all of the grapes, but as they began to be tasted, there were flavors of smoke.
“You can definitely taste the smoke,” he said. “It’s got high tannins in the back of your tongue.”
The wine is still in production and Abarca said it’s new territory for him and the Miraflores team, navigating a harvest impacted by a wildfire. He’s turned to winemakers in Napa to learn how to remove the smoke flavor in the production process.
“We’re going to come up with a solution for it if there’s a solution,” he said.
Miraflores harvested 95 tons of grapes from 48 acres. Abarca said all varietals were impacted, but some more than others — like the Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Bordeaux, and Cabernet Franc.
READ MORE from: https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2021/11/05/caldor-fire-smoke-impact-el-dorado-county-wine-harvest/.