How California’s Wine Industry Survived Drought and Wildfire (and Keeps Pouring On)

In 2017 I was traveling through Napa with another sommelier friend when the fires hit. It was later at night (I think around 9pm) when we decided it was time to get out of Napa and head to Sonoma early.
Driving was…otherworldly. It felt like a scene from a movie. There was haze everywhere that was lit up (don’t forget it was nighttime). People were driving through red lights and it felt impossible to even tell which direction was toward the fire and which was away from it.
It was surreal and dystopian at the same time.

I’ve always thought there’s something magical about California’s wine country, which was why I had visited it yearly for a decade. The rolling hills, endless vineyards, and those beautiful orange sunsets make you want to stay forever. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that behind that beauty is a wine industry that’s been fighting for its life (literally) against droughts, wildfires, and all kinds of climate curveballs.

And somehow it keeps bouncing back.

California wine is huge

If you’re not a sommelier, you might not realize that if you’ve ever sipped a glass of Chardonnay, there’s a solid chance it came from California. The state produces over 80% of all U.S. wine. It’s the fourth-largest wine producer in the entire world, right behind Italy, France, and Spain. Yes, that’s the state, not the USA.

And it’s not just Napa or Sonoma. California’s wine regions stretch from Mendocino to Santa Barbara, covering over 600,000 acres of vineyards.

But for the past decade (or honestly, longer), this whole wine empire has been under threat from two big enemies: wildfires anddd the lovely bastard’s cousin: drought.

And yet, the wine still flows.

Let’s talk about the fires

The wildfires in California haven’t just been scary, they’ve been absolutely devastating for vineyards. You probably remember headlines about the 2017 and 2020 fires in Napa and Sonoma. Entire wineries burned down. Vineyards scorched to high hell. Winemakers forced to evacuate and some died in the chaos of carbon dioxide and fermentation tanks. As I mentioned at the start of this, I was in Calistoga in 2017, and I can tell you it was an insane life experience!

But even vineyards that didn’t burn faced a sneaky problem: smoke taint.

Basically, when grapes are exposed to wildfire smoke, they absorb compounds that make the wine taste… off. Think ashtray vibes if you’re even old enough to know what an ash tray is. Not ideal.

Some winemakers had to dump entire harvests because the grapes were too smoky. Others got creative using smoke-tainted grapes for stronger, smokier blends or rosé instead of reds (since shorter skin contact reduced the smoke flavor).

A lot of wineries invested in testing labs to check grapes for smoke taint before bothering to harvest. Some even started picking earlier to avoid later-season smoke exposure. Not a horrible idea in my opinion, I like that Old World style of less sugar and more acid personally.

A few even installed wind machines and water sprayers to literally blow or wash smoke off their vineyards. High-tech.

And then there’s the drought

As if fire wasn’t enough, California’s been in a megadrought for years. Water allocations for farmers have been absolutely slashed at this point. Reservoirs are at historic lows, and grapevines are thirsty little plants.

But here’s the twist you might not have seen coming: wine grapes actually do okay with less water, up to a point. In fact, stressed vines (vines that don’t get much water) can produce grapes with more concentrated flavors. Some winemakers actually like that.

But too little water and the vines start shutting down. Grapes get smaller, yields drop, sugar levels spike too fast. It’s a delicate balance that I, personally, am glad I’m not in charge of. I have enough issues with my one Riesling grape vine that I’ve had for over a decade.

A lot of vineyards have shifted to dry farming, which is growing grapes without irrigation, relying only on natural rainfall. This produces lower yields but super intense grapes. Others are switching to drought-resistant rootstocks or training vines to grow deeper roots.

And some wineries are even experimenting with alternative grape varieties that can handle heat and drought better than traditional Cabernet or Pinot Noir. Ever heard of Tempranillo or Grenache? They’re gaining popularity for exactly this reason.

Adapting, innovating, surviving

It’s been a constant dance of adaptation and flexibility. Some winemakers are building underground storage tanks to save water. Others are installing solar panels and microgrids to stay powered during wildfire blackouts.

Some are moving vineyards to higher elevations or cooler coastal areas to escape heatwaves. A few have started harvesting at night to avoid sun damage and keep grapes cool.

And then there’s the community factor, neighboring wineries banding together to share water, firefighting equipment, and resources. It’s not every industry where competitors literally help each other survive.

The wine community’s sense of “we’re in this together” is incredible and a big part of the draw to this industry for me from the beginning.

Will California wine survive climate change?

That’s the big question on everyone’s mind.

Some experts predict we’ll see fewer classic Napa Cabs in the future, and more Mediterranean-style grapes might take over.
Vineyard maps may shift northward or closer to the coast too.

But here’s what’s clear, California wine isn’t going away, it’s evolving, changing, growing.

And I kind of love that. Because wine, at its heart, is all about telling the story of a place. A vintage reflects the weather, the soil, the struggles of that year.

So yeah, the wine industry’s been through fire and drought. But the wine being made right now, it’s a part of that story.

And if you ever sip a bottle from the 2020 harvest, just know that wine survived a literal inferno adn pandemic.

Why it matters beyond wine lovers

Even if you’re not a wine drinker, California’s wine industry impacts more than you think.

It’s a $40+ billion industry for the state, it supports over 325,000 jobs, it attracts millions of tourists every year, and those vineyards are also important for land conservation, carbon capture, and rural economies.

If California’s wine industry can’t adapt to climate change, it’s not just wine we lose. It’s jobs, culture, landscapes, ecosystems, you name it.

I have no doubt California’s winemakers will keep figuring it out, they always have. Does that mean it’ll be easy? Not even a little bit.

They’ll plant new grapes, find new ways to conserve water, build smarter fire protections. And maybe in 20 years, we’ll all be sipping California Tempranillo or Vermentino and absolutely loving it!

That’s the beauty of wine, it changes, but it keeps going.

Every glass you pour is a little sip of resilience.
I’d like to even credit some of my own healing journey post trauma to the fact that I’ve learned how to survive from these stories in the wine industry.

Want more California deep dives?

If you’re curious about how California keeps punching above its weight, check out my post on how California’s Central Valley feeds the world. Or read about how California’s economy just passed Japan, because this state keeps surprising me!

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