Smoke gets in your wine

The phone rings and a voice asks "Is that the most heavily-oaked Cote Rotie you've ever smelled ? Nope, it's the Chatsworth fire."

Well, at least my brother still has a sense of humor after evacuating his home in Box Canyon this afternoon. We are keeping all fingers crossed, perhaps somehow his home may escape the fire's path one more time, tonight. He won't sleep. His home cellar bested mine for quality. We got thirty cases out safely between my Passat and his MGB, but had to leave fifty more behind ...

[David M. Bueker]

All hopes for a positive outcome. At least everyone is somewhere safe.

A good friend of mine lost his cellar (and home) to a house fire on New Year's Day this year. The insurance company researched it all and paid him current going rates for every bottle since he had replacement cost insurance on everything. Then they let him buy it all back at $1/bottle as salvage. He figured, why not? He's been opening them throughout the year, and some have been cooked, and some are oddly smoked, and some are just fine.

Here's hoping your brother never has to do that particular experiment.

David, Thanks for your thoughts.

Cynthia, What a devastating loss for your friend, I'm so sorry; I hope there's some special solace for him/her found in those remaining good bottles. We're trying to find some right now among the cases we saved, but it's not the same thing - at all.

Jeff,

How are things tonight with your family?

Hi Dave

So far, so good for us, bad for other folks.

The winds changed some during the night and the leading edges of the fire pushed elsewhere through rough hilly canyons, heading towards the coastal ranges. So for now, my brother Greg's mid-ridgeline street has not been hit. But the fire is moving everywhere again now that winds are slowing. Evacuations are still on. It's a drought year here and currently 11% relative humidity at 71 deg F.

Life is good.

NWR:

Life, home and wine of my brother are OK. Image of fires taken by satellite on Monday is available here ...

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires ... 81014.html

[David M. Bueker]

Yipee!! That's wonderful news.

The phone rings and a voice asks "Is that the most heavily-oaked Cote Rotie you've ever smelled ? Nope, it's the Chatsworth fire."

...

That remark is a real classic for a moment of severe stress. I am glad to hear that your brother is well and that his home and wines are intact.

With forest fire and earthquake risks, Southern California seems a more precarious place than many. I have resisted pressure to move to Provence partly because of similar risks.

Maybe living in Tornado Alley isn't so bad after all. Glad to hear that your brother's place is ok, Jeff.

Tim, Provence ? Dangers there ? Maybe Bandol-overdose ! Just teasing, I thought Provence a real paradise from our only visit there. If they have quakes and fires I can appreciate your perspective.

Robert, I dunno if I'd pick up roots to come here either ! We left lost a condo in '92 on Kawaii. Now these fires and earthquakes keep coming here. Maybe now it's time to move on to, ummm, ummm, lesseeee.... Nawwww, I have too much wine to move anywhere right now.

David, A positive outcome of this event is that I have decided to put more wine up for sale with a local merchant. Our backs are keeeeeeling us from moving those boxes twice in a week. Gettin' too old for this.

Tim, Provence ? Dangers there ? Maybe Bandol-overdose ! Just teasing, I thought Provence a real paradise from our only visit there. If they have quakes and fires I can appreciate your perspective.

Jeff, Provence is a paradise and Bandol/Trévallon/Château Simone overdose is a big risk even here. More seriously, there are bad forest fires there nearly every year mostly of criminal origin. The last serious earthquake was in 1909 and Menton was devastated by one in 1887, which dates straddle the bad one in San Francisco. They are probably about due for another one.