What is Smoke Taint, and How Will Wildfires and Climate Change Impact the Future of California Wine?

We’re  kicking off season 2 speaking about smoke taint, wildfires, sustainability and climate change as it relates to wine. Our guests are incredibly inspiring women in the wine industry, Shalini Sekhar of Neely Wine, and Annie McHenry of McHenry Vineyards. Both Shalini and Annie work in the Santa Cruz Mountains region, which was hit incredibly hard by the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. McHenry sadly lost a great deal of their wine library, as well as their cabin, and winemaking equipment in the fire, and the region is now fundraising to help others similarly impacted through their Mountain Wine Program.

Thankfully the fire is now contained, but Northern California’s wine country continues to burn at record breaking levels, which is becoming increasingly common. As a wine-loving, homegrown Californian I find myself wondering, is this the new normal? How can the industry adapt to prepare for future quote unquote “catastrophic weather events?” What is the impact of “smoke taint” on wine, and what does that even mean, anyway?

Sekhar and McHenry answer these questions and more on our first episode.

A special thanks to our sponsor for this episode,  JYBE. You can find out more about their app, which allows diners to find restaurants that use sustainable packaging for their take-out options, here.

And of course give us a follow @kristasimmons and @forkintheroadmedia on Instagram.