California a blaze as the grapes are being harvested

California grapes are being harvested as the state suffers another intense fire season, affecting top wine regions including Napa, Sonoma, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. Thankfully most of the wineries have escaped the worst of the damage with 2 out of the states' 4,200 wineries being severely damaged by the fires according to the California Wine Institute.

Smoke on the skins gets absorbed into the grape and is released into the wine during fermentation creating unattractive smoke, burnt or ash flavours.