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January 2018 WINES&VINES 17 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS atpgroup Small package. Big results. • Ideal solution where space is limited. • Small size / Large filtering surface. • Compact, integrated automatic CIP system. • Fully automatic. • Micro-filtration membrane for preparation prior to bottling. • Intelligent backwash system that starts only when a pre-set quantity of solids is reached. • A unique membrane design provides superior results. • Only available through ATPGroup. TMCI Padovan Nitor SMART Cross-Flow Filter For more inFormation, contact atPGrouP at 707-836-6840 or online at www.atPGrouP.com. see us at booth J1, uniFied symPosium, January 24-25. online as part of incident reports at fire.ca.gov. Charles Schembre, vineyard conservation coordinator for the Napa County Resource Conserva- tion District, said vineyard owners and managers in Napa Valley are generally well experienced when it comes to erosion control. "You already have a lot of skills and understanding of erosion-control measures," he said. "Do the things you normally do." Schembre said he's met with many people with property be- neath blackened hillsides, and there's an understandable urge to do something more such as cover the entire hillside with straw. However, unless that land is di- rectly upslope from a vineyard, further action may not be needed or even helpful. "In most cases, I think it's safe to say don't do anything when it's quite a bit away from your vine- yard and other infrastructure," he said. Schembre said he's still getting called out to properties where he's seen extensive damage to drain- age infrastructure, from melted pipes to ditches that have been clogged with debris. He urged the audience to "get out there and look at every piece of drainage," because one failure point could lead to significant problems later in the winter. If a piece of drainage can't be repaired or replaced, Schembre suggested opening it as a ditch and reinforcing it with rock. Ex- isting ditches that may now be clogged should also be cleared and inspected for any damage. Water bars, designed to move water off roads, and other ero- sion-control features may also have been damaged by the heavy equipment, and roads can also begin to erode from the heavy wheel ruts. Cal Fire and PG&E may also send a work crew out to repair damage or prevent erosion in the aftermath of the fire. "It's not just what burned but the fire manage- ment that happened on the ground," he said. Sonya DeLuca, associate direc- tor of the grapegrowers' group, said the event came together to try and answer the most common questions that have continued to flow into the group's office in the days and weeks after the fires. "This is a season we'll remember for a lifetime," she said of the re- cent vintage. The NVG has donated all its remaining N95 masks, clothing and other suppliers to other ag- ricultural groups affected by fires in Southern California. On Dec. 6, the California De- partment of Insurance announced residential and commercial prop- erty claims from wildfires through- out the state in 2017 totaled more than $9.4 billion. The North Bay fires account for $9 billion of that total, which is based on claims to more than 260 insurers for the de- struction and damage to more than 21,000 homes, 2,800 business, more than 6,100 vehicles and nearly 800 other types of claims. During the months after the fires, the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, Calif., conducted a wide-ranging survey of the North Bay wine industry in an attempt to gauge the impact of the fires. SSU staff plan to release the re- sults of the survey at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium taking place Jan. 23-25 in Sacramento, Calif. (See story on page 50.) —Andrew Adams, Jaime Lewis, Jane Firstenfeld and Kate Lavin " This is a season we'll remember for a lifetime." —Sonya DeLuca, Napa Valley Grapegrowers