Dive Brief:
- Wineries in California's Napa Valley are cleaning up the damage from an earthquake on Sunday, assessing the cost of broken bottles and shattered casks.
- Initial reports suggest that a magnitude-6 earthquake that tore through the winemaking area caused less damage than what first appeared in the initial hours after the quake.
- Some winemakers, such as Steve Matthiasson, say hundreds of 900-pound casks were thrown around their facilities. Others, like Domaine Carneros, report only minor damage to equipment.
Dive Insight:
In a natural disaster, as in life itself, luck counts. Sunday's quake was significant, and lots of residents of the area will not soon forget the event. But for the businesses of the region, it looks like it was a simple matter of luck that determined how bad the damage was.
But looking at the larger picture, it's fair to say that even the luckiest wineries are unlucky. The quake came at the worst possible time for the industry -- in the middle of the harvest and the peak of the tourist season.