Richer Wine Is on the Table From California's Record Power Cuts

(Bloomberg) -- With California wine country going dark due to power cuts, this year’s luxury Cabernet Sauvignons might be even more coveted.

Some wineries have put grape-picking on pause as utility giant PG&E Corp. carries out unprecedented blackouts across Northern California. While leaving grapes on the vine may have been bad if conditions were rainy and frosty, the current pause coincides with cool and sunny weather. That means a richer, more balanced vintage could be in the offing.

“To let the fruit hang a little longer, it’ll develop more complex flavors and balance, especially with the cooler weather, which helps with acid development,” said Cate Conniff, a spokeswoman for the Napa Valley Vintners. “If wineries are smaller and the Cab can sit in the sun for a few more days, they’re happy to let it hang.”

Half a million homes and business in the northern part of the state have lost power, with that count expected to rise later Wednesday. Bankrupt PG&E is carrying out the biggest-ever intentional blackout, hoping to keep power lines from sparking wildfires as dangerous high winds sweep the state.

Winemakers are mostly prepared for the outages, Sonoma and Napa Valley wine groups said. Because of wildfires in 2017, many operations already have generators. Others have bought or rented generators, or arranged for grapes to be stored at facilities where there is power, said Michael Haney, executive director of Sonoma County Vintners. However, there may be some smaller wineries that can’t afford the expense of a generator, Haney said.

Winemakers are farmers, who are used to dealing with various weather and environmental disasters, Conniff said. “The show must go on,” she said.

--With assistance from Michael Hirtzer.

To contact the reporters on this story: Lydia Mulvany in Chicago at lmulvany2@bloomberg.net;Mark Chediak in San Francisco at mchediak@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net, Pratish Narayanan, Christine Buurma

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