The best way to help? Gather a bunch of friends and drink copious amounts of wine.
With every disaster, there is a silver lining. In this case, it's that most wineries store their inventory from past years off-site. Luckily, this means there is a good amount of wine to be sold (or bought rather) that can help generate income for the many vintners who will have to rebuild their businesses from the ground up.
Amongst the thousands of homes and businesses that were lost or damaged in this month's wildfire, around three dozen of them were Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino County wineries and vineyards. Some, like Helena View Johnston Vineyards in Calistoga and Frey Vineyards Winery in Mendocino County, have been completely destroyed, while others, like Paras Vineyard and Roy Estate have lost much of their estates or sustained significant damages.
Support these vintners by ordering directly, and enjoy a bottle (or several). Here is a list of wineries in need who sell their vino online.
(Courtesy of Maja Petric)
Ahh Winery: Ahh's Brickhill Vineyard Pinot Noirs, like their 2010 Married Barrel blend ($34), are aged at least two years in the barrel and two in the bottle before retail, oohandahh.com
Ancient Oak Cellars: Ancient Oak makes a number of varietals from the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Mountain, including their deeply fruity, brightly acidic 2014 Zinfandel from Pagnano Vineyards ($37), ancientoakcellars.com
Chateau St. John: Stock up on Chateau St. John's 2013 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir with its aromas of cherry, black tea and notes of tanned leather ($40), chateaustjean.com
Darioush Winery: Darioush is offering a wide variety of Napa and Russian River Valley reds and whites, including their 2014 Signature Merlot and its aromas of lavender, blackberry compote and red plum ($58), darioush.com
Domaine Carneros: Try a range of spectacular sparkling wines with refreshing aromas like the 2012 Estate Brut Cuvee and its hints of flowers, lychee and white peach and pear ($35), domainecarneros.com
Frey Vineyards Winery: Though orders are currently suspended due to the fires, they'll soon be back to shipping their portfolio of organic and biodynamic wines including their first Umbra organic sparkling wine (price currently unlisted), freywine.com
Gundlach Bundschu Winery: Six generations have produced wine on Gundlach Bundschu's Rhinefarm estate vineyard including pinots, cabernets and their 2014 medium bodied merlot with hints of violets, fruit and ripe olives ($25), gunbun.com
Hagafen Cellars: Though they have a strong library of reds, some of Hagafen's most delicious offerings are sweet whites like their award-winning, Meyer lemony Lake County Riesling ($24), hagafen.com
Jarvis Estate: Jarvis produces a number of opulent reserve and estate wines ranging from cabernet to Chardonnay to tempranillo (prices available to club members), jarviswines.com
Kenwood Vineyards: This winery produces single-vineyard wines, including a series of merlot, syrah, cabernet and zinfandel produced on Jack London's Glen Ellen estate ($28-35), kenwoodvineyards.com
Mayacamas Vineyards: Order up this historic winery's 2014 merlot, exploding with red raspberry, star anise, cardamom and clove ($60), mayacamas.com
Mayo Family Wineries: Place your order for Mayo Family's estate grown 2012 Brut Sparkling and enjoy its aromas of strawberry, peach and apricot ($40), mayofamilywinery.com
Nicholson Ranch: This winery features pinot noir and Chardonnay including the 2012 Chardonnay Sonoma Valley Estate, a smooth and refreshing wine with hints of vanilla and orange blossom ($36), nicholsonranch.com
Oster Wine Cellars: Their wine club offers beautiful estate-grown cabernet sauvignons, including a 2010 version saturated with blackberry and sweet oak spice ($45), osterwines.com
Paradise Ridge Winery: Stock up on their 2013 Russian River Valley Chardonnay ($40) which, with its fruity notes and restrained use of oak, will please even those who don't normally go for Chardonnay, prwinery.com
Patland Estate Vineyard: Their online store features Patland's flagship cabernet alongside other reds and rosés, and a 2014 sauvignon blanc which lights up the palate with spearmint and citrus flavors ($48), patlandvineyards.com
Robert Sinskey Vineyards: At RSV's online store you'll find 100% organic reds and whites like their 2013 pinot noir featuring notes of red berries, graphite and stone ($70), robertsinskey.com
Signorello Estate Wineries: All of the wines produced at Signorello have received over 90 points from Wine Advocate, including the 2013 Estate Syrah which is spicy and peppery but loaded with notes of cherry and berry (price available to club members), signorelloestate.com
Sill Family Vineyards: Sill specializes in Bordeaux-style cabernets, Burgundian-style Chardonnays, and last year produced a 2016 tres Chardonnay de Rosé ($65) which blends the best of both, sillfamilyvineyards.com
Silver Oak Cellars Vineyard: Silver Oak's cabernets, like their 2013 Alexander Valley version ($75), are aged to perfection in American oak barrels, silveroak.com
Sky Vineyards: Sky experienced significant losses in the fires but their inventory of zinfandel and syrah, including their deeply rich and fruity 2012 syrah, are safe and sound ($25), skyvineyards.com
Stags' Leap Winery: You can't go wrong with any of the offerings from one of Napa's most famous wineries, whose offerings range from the 2013 Audentia Cabernet Sauvignon ($200) to the 2016 Amparo Rose ($30), stagsleap.com
Storybook Mountain Vineyards: Specializing in zinfandels and zinfandel blends like their barrel-fermented, dry zinfandel rosé Zin Gris ($25), storybookwines.com
VinRoc: Find their upscale wines, including their signature well-balanced cabernet sauvignon from Atlas Peak grown grapes ($100) online or in SF at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchants and Cask, vinrocnapa.com
White Rock Vineyards: Place an order for this winery's Napa Valley Claret, a Bordeaux blend with rich tones of raspberry, cherry and licorice ($54), whiterockvineyards.com
William Hill Estate Winery: Modestly priced coastal varietals like the 2014 North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon with subtle hints of caramel and cocoa ($17), williamhillestate.com
Thanks to Mirit Cohen for her work in putting together a list of fire-impacted wineries.
