Pigeons silhouetted by the sun, in the Oregon wildfire smoke of 2020.
The wineries’ lawsuit alleged that PacifiCorp’s refusal to cut off power to lines in a severe windstorm contributed to the fires that had deleterious effects on the 2020 vintage.
Wildfire smoke can damage wine by tainting the grapes; a phenomenon known as ‘smoke taint.’ It is particularly problematic with red wines in the maceration process.
As a result of the fires and intense and lingering wildfire smoke, many Willamette Valley wineries sold off wine in bulk, declassified wines, made white Pinot Noirs and, in the worst cases, made no wine at all.
Adam Campbell, second-generation owner and winemaker at Elk Cove Vineyards, said, ‘My gut tells me that the total production was probably cut in half across the valley.’
Campbell added, ‘At the time, we were mostly focused on how we honour our contracts with growers, get the grapes in and try and make something salvageable.
‘Subsequent to managing all of that, we learned that there were things that could have been done to mitigate some of the fires that PacifiCorp chose not to do. This lawsuit is about holding people accountable.’
However, the facts of the case would ultimately have to be decided upon by a jury.
PacifiCorp hasn’t directly commented on the case, although it told Associated Press that it was committed to settling all reasonable claims ‘as provided under Oregon law’.
Thus far, PacifiCorp has made several settlements regarding the wildfires. Earlier this week, the
