SAN FRANCISCO - As many as 50,000 cases of wine and champagne were destroyed in a warehouse fire in the heart of California's premier winemaking region, officials said Friday.
The smoky fire at Kornell Champagne Cellars near Calistoga, about 75 miles north of San Francisco, likely broke out Wednesday, but wasn't reported until Thursday morning, officials said. On Friday, firefighters in the Napa Valley continued to fight the smoky blaze, which was expected to smolder for days.
No major injuries were reported.
''It's a concrete-sided building and the sides fell in and the roof fell in on top of it, and it's got like 50,000 cases of wine and champagne,'' said State Division of Forestry Capt. Thomas Shores.
No precise damage estimate was available Friday, but fire officials gave a rough estimate of several million dollars.
The facility is owned by Frank-Rombauer Larkmead Cellars, which stores and bottles wine under its own name at the site. Other labels it produces, including Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and the entire inventory of Napa Cellars, were reportedly lost in the fire.
The warehouse also stored wines from more than 30 local vintners, restaurants and private collections. Other labels that suffered significant losses include Pride Mountain, T-Vine and Elyse, which retail for $50 to $150 per case.
''The small-time vintners could lose their business over this,'' said Eric Sims, an industry analyst with wine consultants Motto, Kryla and Fisher.
Jim Pryde, owner of Pride Mountain Vineyards in St. Helena, returned from vacation Thursday to learn he had lost 125 cases of 1997 reserve cabernet valued at $130,000.
''It's a heck of a thing to come home to,'' he said.
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