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Wasted: Napa Wineries Soaked in Losses After Earthquake

Winemakers in California's storied Napa Valley woke up to thousands of broken bottles and barrels as a result of Sunday's earthquake.
A worker looks at a pile of wine bottles that were thrown from the shelves at Van's Liquors following a reported 6.0 earthquake on Aug. 24, 2014 in Napa, California.
A worker looks at a pile of wine bottles that were thrown from the shelves at Van's Liquors following a reported 6.0 earthquake on Aug. 24, 2014 in Napa, California.Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
/ Source: The Associated Press

Winemakers in California's storied Napa Valley woke up to thousands of broken bottles and barrels as a result of Sunday's earthquake.

The earthquake couldn't have come at a worse time for the region, which has just started harvesting the 2014 crop.

"It's devastating. I've never seen anything like this," said Tom Montgomery, a winemaker for B.R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen, California.

The epicenter of the 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Northern California, the strongest in the area in 25 years, was just six miles southwest of Napa, California, the center of California's winemaking region.

B.R. Cohn lost "as much as 50 percent" of its wine, Montgomery said. The winery focuses on high-end, single estate wines that retail between $40 and $100 a bottle.

"It's not just good wine we lost, it's our best wine," he said.

Image: Cellar worker Daniel Nelson looks over toppled barrels
Cellar worker Daniel Nelson looks over toppled barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon following an earthquake at the B.R. Cohn Winery barrel storage facility on Aug. 24, in Napa, Calif.Eric Risberg / AP

— The Associated Press