How former US ambassador’s winery survived the California wildfires
Kathryn Walt Hall, the lawyer behind Napa Valley’s Walt and Hall wines, talks about earning Robert Parker’s perfect 100 score, her plans for Hong Kong and how her vineyards escaped with relatively minor burns during the California wildfires
What plans do you have for Hong Kong? “Hong Kong has traditionally been a French-oriented market in the category of ultra-premium wines. It’s going to take time for us to build our business here, to get to know the folks. People who are going to spend a great deal on wine want to know the wine comes from real people, who those people are, what their values are, the style of winemaking. There’s a whole story that goes behind a glass of wine.”
How did the recent California wildfires affect your wineries? “We didn’t have any structural damage, though some of our vineyards were singed – vineyards don’t burn, they act as a fire stopper. One of our vineyards was at the epicentre of the Atlas Peak fire and we lost all that crop; hopefully it will come back next year.
“One good thing is that we source grapes from all over the valley, giving us options. We were also one of the few that had generators to keep the juices cool during fermentation. My guess is that after this fire there are going to be a lot more wineries buying generators.”
What about this year’s harvest? “So much of our fruit was in before the fire so I think we’re OK. We’re still testing for smoke taint – everyone in the valley is doing this. The air was so thick you could cut it. We don’t know what the impact of all that smoke being around the vineyards is going to be. We have been doing some analysis of the juice and so far, so good.