The Rocky fire could cause grape smoke taint

As the Rocky fire rages, vintner Ryan Zepaltas is tracking its every move; he wants to make sure the Lake County vineyard he sources fruit from is not in its path. So far the 20-acre vineyard of Sauvignon Blanc grapes hasn’t gone up in flames. But the vines could still be affected by the smoky skies overhead. “We’ll pull cluster samples and send them to the lab to see if we detect smoke taint,” Zepaltas said. “It’s way worse on red wines because they ferment on the skins.”