Wildfires blazed in Mendocino County, California from June through August in 2008 and many of the fires were precarioulsy close to the vineyards there. We have detected an uncanny smokiness -- as in ash, not bacon -- in some of the 2008 wines we have tasted from that area. The fires also affected Lake County and Northern Napa and Sonoma counties but we have not, as of yet, had the same experience. Not to say these counties are immune to the smoke, just that we have not encountered any examples to date.In fact, we hadn't thought all that much about it, but the question came up the other day when someone mentioned they identified a little ashy flavor in a '08 Pinot Noir they tasted from Anderson Valley. They wondered aloud whether this could be a result of the fires and smoke that plagued the vineyards that spring and summer.
It seems that some producers are waving off claims that wines from the area are demonstrating characteristics that seem to have come from the wildfires. How can that be so?
