Like wine lovers from across the country, Mark Mulston from Shelton has visited the vineyards in Northern California.
"It was fantastic," he said. "It was heaven for any wine lover and it’s a tragedy what I see is going on out there right there, it’s a natural disaster."
Some of Connecticut’s 35 wineries import California grapes. At Gouveia Vineyards in Wallingford, a majority of the grapes used to make a variety of wines are grown on their scene 140 acre property.
"I love creating something from the ground up, literally," Vineyard Manager and Winemaker Maryann Houde said.
Consumers could feel the impact of the destruction from the wildfires in California’s Napa and Sonoma counties, she added.
"I think it’s definitely going to make the price go up," Houde said. "And it’s definitely going to have an impact on the quality of wine that comes out of California."
It could take several years for the Northern California wineries devastated by the wildfires to recover, Houde told NBC Connecticut.
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"It takes 3 to 5 years for vines when you plant them to start producing grapes so it’s a really long process," she said. "Every year as they get old they’ll produce a little bit more and the quality gets better."
Knowing more than a dozen lives have been lost because of the raging wildfires out west, Mulston said he can live with a paying a little bit more for a bottle of wine.
"When something like that happens I’m not even concerned about wine prices," he said. "I’m more concerned about the loss of life and property and what those poor people are going through."
Mulston said he hopes to return to California’s famed wine country.
"Without a doubt," he said. "I’d go out there now if I could support them in any way."
