All California Is Wine Country—and the Wildfires Make It More So

Our Thriving Vineyards Put People in Harm's Way, but They Also Bind Us Together

The deaths and damage of this year’s Wine Country wildfires are a historic disaster. They are also the product of an epic California success.

That triumph is the growth of the wine industry, which has come to dominate our state’s land, culture, and image. Indeed, it’s now outdated to refer to the burning stretches of Napa and Sonoma counties as California’s Wine Country. The truth is that the whole state is Wine Country. And these awful fires—and the hotter fires that are to come as the climate heats up—will only make …