Napa Quake Seen Costing Up to $4 Billion as Wineries Shut

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Michael B. Marois, Zachary Tracer and Dan Hart Aug 25, 2014 10:58 AM ET

The earthquake that struck northern California yesterday will lead to economic losses of as much as $4 billion, fueled by damaged wineries and shuttered businesses that rely on tourists.

Insurers will probably cover about $2.1 billion, according to an estimate from Kinetic Analysis Corp., which projected total losses of about twice that sum. Costs borne by the industry may be limited because many homeowners don’t have earthquake coverage, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

“The main source of claims could well be commercial claims, those coming from wineries and vineyards and other commercial interests,” Robert Hartwig, the institute’s president, said in an interview today. “It will take a while for the business owners to sort this out.”

Related: California Quake to Cost Insurers Up to $1 Billion, Eqecat Says

The temblor, the strongest in Northern California in 25 years, hit the Napa region north of San Francisco at about 3:20 a.m. local time yesterday, crumpling historic buildings, cracking roads and injuring more than 120 people. The quake left many in the region without power and water, and California Governor Jerry Brown declared the zone a disaster area.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-24/california-quake-crumples-buildings-as-scores-are-hurt.html

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[liberal N proud]

1. I like my wine shaken, not stirred

[KamaAina]

2. Go to your room!

[tosh]

3. Yeah, and without supper!

[liberal N proud]

4. It was too easy

I can't help myself.

[musiclawyer]

5. Feel bad for Napa winemakers but there's lots of wine in CA

Monterey and Santa Barbara County have excellent wines with great tasting rooms.
The Lodi area has good wines on the sweeter side with great tasting rooms.
The Sierra foothills have really great Mourvèdre, Granache, big Zins, and cutting edge blends. The tasting rooms in some places (like Murphys) are so so but with some 20 plus wineries placing tasting rooms on the same street, you can taste and not have to drive. There won't be any shortages of good CA wine. Hope Napa recovers soon ....

[Piedras]

6. Hope Napa recovers soon, lots of CA Central Coast wine available to take up some of the demand.

I too feel bad for the residents and businesses in Napa County. San Luis Obispo County, in between Monterey and Santa Barbara counties is also a major wine producing area.
pasowine.com and slowine.com are two websites for SLO county wineries.

[mackerel]

12. Hey! you left out Lodi :P

[Javaman]

7. Better get a few bottles before the inevitable mark up. nt

[onecent]

8. With the drought and the water shortage this is not looking good for

wine prices......

[Psephos]

10. However, it should make for some interesting vintages. n/t

[flamingdem]

9. bummer!

There's a market for a webbing that would hold bottles in place, or something.

[olddad56]

11. my guess would be that what the insurers pay out will be in excess of what the damage truly is.

It is the American way.