LIVERMORE — The deadly wine country inferno has diverted tourists, groups and wedding parties to wine regions in the East Bay, South Bay and elsewhere.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” said Cindy Turchino, tasting room manager and hospitality manager with The Steven Kent Winery in Livermore. “This week we got three times as many people that we would normally see on a weekday. I would say 80 percent of those people are coming either from Napa Valley or the Sonoma area.”
The raging wildfires in the North Bay have scorched wineries, displaced residents and businesses and packed hotels in Napa County and Sonoma County with refugees from the catastrophe.
“Everybody is going to be busy this weekend,” said Chris Chandler, executive director of the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association. “We had a meeting this week with about 35 to 40 winery representatives and asked if they were seeing more business from the North Bay. Literally, every single winery representative raised their hands.”
Wineries in the Livermore area in particular are receiving plenty of inquiries, although vineyards in Santa Clara County, the Monterey Bay Area and the Santa Cruz Mountains also are hearing from people who were obliged to forego a North Bay wine experience.
“We have been getting a lot of calls since Wednesday, groups, individuals, people desperately looking for spots and wineries because they can’t get into Napa and Sonoma,” said Chris Colzani, a wine educator with Concannon Vineyard, one of the Livermore Valley’s largest wineries. “It’s mostly people who were planning to go to Napa, or St. Helena, or Calistoga who wanted a real boutique experience.”
The wineries in the East Bay are donating to fire relief, including giving away a portion of their proceeds.
Winery operators say they’ve been impressed by the generosity of some of their customers.
“A few days ago, a young lady who was getting married got in touch with us. She was very emotional on the phone. Her venue in the Napa Valley was not damaged, but she felt guilty for taking hotel rooms from people who really needed them. So she came to our winery,” said Steve Ziganti, owner of 3 Steves Winery in Livermore. “I was so impressed by her volunteering to give up her special day that we didn’t charge her for a small wedding ceremony here. We weren’t going to profit from somebody else’s bad luck or pain.”
The unexpected flow of visitors comes at a time when both East Bay and South Bay wineries, as well as those in the Napa and Sonoma areas, have been occupied with the all-important annual harvest. That means wineries would normally be bustling with activity anyway, so the additional visitors means even more work to handle by vintners.
“We are normally very busy this time of year,” said Lisa Kalfus, vice president of marketing with Wente Family Estates in Livermore. “We are going to have extra labor and have all hands on deck with the crowds we have been getting this week and what we are expecting all weekend.”
In Los Gatos, Testarossa Winery says business was well up throughout the week.
“We are seeing about a 15 percent increase from what we would normally see,” said Rob Jensen, owner of Testarossa. “But hearts are going all out for the folks lin the North Bay.”
Both large groups and individuals are seeking out wineries in Santa Clara County, vintners said. Plus, tour companies and limousine firms have diverted wine lovers to the South Bay and East Bay.
“A big Google group came by on Wednesday that was supposed to be staying in Sonoma,” said Emily Loera, who works events and the tasting room at Sycamore Creek Vineyards. “There was another couple that had going wine tasting in Napa on their bucket list.”
Beauregard Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains town of Bonny Doon is a relatively small winery and has experienced big crowds during the week, to the extent that co-owner and winemaker Ryan Beauregard wonders whether they can fit in all the potential visitors.
“We might have to turn people away because we can only have 49 people in our tasting room at any one time,” Beauregard said.
The influx of visitors is viewed as bittersweet by all the winery officials interviewed by this news organization for this story.
“On the one hand, we welcome these visitors,” Chandler of the Livermore Valley wine group said. “But on the other hand, it is heartbreaking because people are having such a tough time north of us.”
