Post-quake cleanup begins near Napa as winemakers try to salvage stock

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake rocked wine country north of San Francisco early on Sunday, injuring dozens of people, damaging historic buildings, setting some homes on fire and causing power outages around the picturesque town of Napa. The quake jolted many residents out of bed when it hit at 3:20 a.m. California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency, putting all state resources at the disposal of his Office of Emergency Services. Three people were seriously injured, including a child who suffered multiple fractures after a fireplace fell on him.

This was a pretty big jolt in Napa, but it certainly is not ‘The Big One.’

Barry Martin, community outreach coordinator for the City of Napa

On the business side of things, the earthquake couldn’t have come at a worse time for winemakers in the Napa region, which has just started harvesting its 2014 crop. The earthquake adds to what has already been a difficult year for California winemakers. California is in the middle of its worst drought in decades, and the earthquake comes just as winemakers in the region are getting ready to harvest the 2014 crop. Winemakers were reporting modest damage to equipment, which could affect harvesting.

It’s not just good wine we lost, it’s our best wine.

Tom Montgomery, a winemaker for B.R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen, California