Quake Rattles Breweries and Wineries – Near Miss on Beer Fest

The 6.0 earthquake that slammed the Napa region early Sunday morning caused extensive damage to the wine industry but little if any damage to the region’s craft breweries.

While there are over 400 wineries and a similar number of vintners in the Napa region, there are only five breweries.

The quake was a “near miss’ for many in the beer industry. Just ten hours earlier, the Napa Downtown Association was hosting the Blues, Brews & BBQ beer festival with breweries set up and pouring beer in the exact spot where bricks came crashing down onto the street from the historic buildings in the downtown.

The CCBA was able to contact Napa Smith Brewery, the second closest brewery to the epicenter. They suffered no damage other than a few broken bottles in the tasting room.

Calistoga Brewing located in the far northern end of the valley did not sustain any damage at all.

The wine industry was a different story. Extensive damage to both infrastructure and inventory was being reported. Some wineries were reporting over half of their inventory being stored in barrels or tanks were destroyed according to various media outlets.