McHenry Vineyard CZU Lightning Complex Fire History

Three years on from the fire, our vineyard is strong and healthy and we celebrated a fantastic 2023 harvest. The harvest was complicated over 4 separate days, and concluded in late October. However, this vintage may be exceptional due to the slow ripening and exquisite numbers! We look forward to bottling our 2022 very soon. While we had hoped to make the 2023 vintage in our own, new winery, the rebuild process continues to be full of obstacles. Our current challenge, one we had not anticipated early on, is dealing with a changed geological landscape. The fire exposed what was once a densely wooded hillside behind us, and with few trees to stabilize the soil and rocks, there is a hazard of falling boulders. We are working with geologists and engineers and have devised a plan to mitigate this rockfall hazard. But, because of an October 15th prohibition for excavation, this work cannot begin until the Spring. Similarly we now have concrete requirements on the septic rebuild, but cannot begin until the Spring. Following these systems will be the installation of a required 10k gallon water tank system. The driveway, drainage system and utilities will follow. Now that we have a more concrete understanding of the costs, and our budget, we are on the search for an architect and engineer. We hope to have plans to take out to bid in late Spring. It remains to be seen when we will begin construction, but completion by the 2024 harvest seems more and more unlikely. And, we are not alone in this timeline. Only 233 permits are in process out of over 900+ lost homes. Meanwhile, we are busy working to put the finishing touches on the remediation of "Grandma's House." The hard work over the summer has paid off to make this important family home nearly fully operational again.

While we work through the rebuild process, Ryan Beauregard continues to generously and skillfully produce our wine, and we are grateful for his support. We would not be in business without him and his team.

We are approaching the third anniversary of the fire, and the rebuild process continues to be an absolute slog. In February of 2023 only 24 of over 900+ homes have been rebuilt. We have been busy though over the summer working with geologist and engineers to devise our rock fall hazard mitigation strategy, and a plan to rebuild our septic system per County requirements for our situation. It has been a very very slow and painful process. But, by the end of September we hope to have this process wrapped up. On the positive side, our mediation with the insurance company for the surviving house concluded. We have been focused all Summer (and months before this as well) on remediating this important family home. Because of the smoke damage, in addition to deep cleaning, we had to replace the carpet, HVAC system, paint it, and replace most linens and upholstered furniture in the house. We also took the opportunity to fully go through all family contents and sort to keepsake/heirlooms, trash or donation. Due to intense heat there was also 3 large windows that were blown out that had to be replaced, as well as other exterior damages to the structure. Plumbing fixtures and appliances had to be serviced. Countless other damages and maintenance items had to be addressed. It has been a huge effort, and a big focus of Annalisa and Brandon's time this Summer. And, you guessed it, more tree debris cleanup work has continued to take up time. The vineyard continues to be healthy, and the vineyard work continues to be a healthy focus area to escape from all the tasks yet to complete. We are grateful for the vineyard to sustain this property. We look forward to harvest season. The summer has been very cool, and we expect a late harvest.

Update - Winter/Spring 2023