IT'S A NAIVE LITTLE MUSCATEL, BUT I THINK YOU'LL ENJOY ITS CREOSOTE FINISH

Oregon Winemakers Turn Wildfire

 Losses Into Collectible Bottles

A new label  Solidarity,  fights fire with wine in  the Pacific Northwest

By 

Larissa Zimberoff  February 13, 2019, 6:16 AM EST

As climate change has become more destructive and unpredictable weather more commonplace, the threat to vineyards has become unavoidable. But in the Rogue Valley in southern Oregon, a test case is unfolding that demonstrates that even in the face of sizable crop loss and broken contracts—and the resulting inability to resell a sensitive agricultural product before it rots—wine grapes can be rescued.

“We’ve made a real effort to learn about smoke taint and how it might be managed, which is interesting because the West Coast is going to have issues with fires,” says Ed King, co-founder of the Willamette Valley’s 28-year-old King Estate Winery, now the largest biodynamic winery in the country.

King and his fellow winemakers have become adept at using fruit from fire zones. Some of the most popular vintages from Willamette Valley Vineyards, one of the state’s leading wine producers and the only publicly held winery in Oregon, are the 2002 Biscuit Fire Syrah and Merlot. (The 2002 Biscuit Fire was one of Oregon’s biggest wildfires in the past century.)

“People were amazed; the wines turned out beautifully,” says winery director Christine Clair. “The Syrah had deep notes of plum and blackberry and rich concentration. It’s a wine that has lots of life left in it.”