VOA慢速英语--野火过后，加州葡萄酒工业发生了变化

California Wine Industry Makes Changes After Wildfires

Harvest season in Northern California's wine country is what dream marriage ceremonies are made of. Its colorful crops and golden sunsets give the ceremonies the beautiful imagery that brings millions of visitors each year.

But harvest season now comes at the same time as another yearly event: wildfires.

In three of the past four years, major wildfires caused by a changing climate have destroyed parts of the world-famous region.

Last month, firefighters were still battling a fire in Napa Valley because of hot, dry, windy weather.

Images of burning wineries and people fleeing their homes made Ash Mintern delay a trip with his girlfriend to wine country. He had hoped to travel there from Tampa, Florida to ask her to marry him.

When I saw that people were leaving the area, I did not want to take a risk, Mintern said.

Like Mintern, other visitors are rethinking their plans to visit the region. So locals who depend on the tourist economy have been rethinking their marketing¹ plans.

"If the fires make major news every year, it's going to keep people from wanting to make long-term plans to vacation here," said Bob McClenahan. He is a photographer who lost all of his wedding jobs this year.

The coronavirus crisis² was already hurting Napa and Sonoma counties. It ended wine tastings and large gatherings³ of any kind.

Closed wineries quickly moved to hold online tastings and offered wine club memberships⁴. The region started to slowly recover in late spring when restaurants and wineries reopened to outdoor drinking and eating. But in August, a series of lightning storms led to wildfires that covered the area in thick smoke.

Then on September 27, a small fire that began near St. Helena was quickly pushed by winds across Napa Valley's green hills. It burned down to the valley floor and destroyed hundreds of homes before making its way to Sonoma County.

The two fires followed huge wildfires last year and in 2017.

Still, most of the countryside, winemaking factories and tasting rooms that bring wine lovers to Northern California have escaped harm. But the mental picture of the area in flames threatens business across the region.

That has led state tourism officials to finance⁵ a study to examine how the threat of fires affects people's reactions and behavior. Some areas are attempting to move their busy season to spring.

When people see frightening pictures of wineries burning, said David Pearson, they imagine a whole region is destroyed. Pearson supervises⁶ the Meadowood resort, whose owners plan to rebuild what was burned by the fire.

Scientists say warmer temperatures and a lack of rain are causing plants and trees to burn easier. This creates the conditions for wildfires to grow quickly and burn with more intensity⁷. California's fire season has been starting earlier and ending later. This year's historic⁸ season began with the lightning storms. So far, about 9,000 wildfires burned a record 1.6 million hectares of land. More than 10,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged. And there have been 31 fire-related deaths.

It is too soon to predict the long-term effects of the 2020 fires. But the study will try to find out whether the fires have affected⁹ people's decision to visit the state, said Caroline Beteta. She is president and CEO of Visit California. The organization will select a research partner in the coming weeks.

"Wildfires have long been a fact of life in the American West," she said. "While fires may be worrisome, they do not cancel everything California has to offer its residents and visitors."

For now, a high number of stays at hotels after recent fires suggests tourism will return. Two high-end hotel companies are opening in the region. Several others are seeking permits to develop resorts.

But tourism officials in Napa and Sonoma counties know the fall has become an undependable time to visit. So they have launched campaigns to get visitors from far away to plan for the winter or spring. During those seasons, wildflowers are everywhere and the area is less busy.

Online, Visit Napa Valley is marketing its Cabernet wine season, which runs from November to April.

And for the fall season, Sonoma County Tourism wants to bring visitors from "the drive market." That is people who can make last-minute plans because they live nearby, president Claudia Vecchio said.

Some wedding planners said they expect to see shorter wedding seasons, with more happening in the spring.

"Rain is easier to deal with than fire," said Janice E. Twomey, who had about 12 weddings delayed or canceled this year.

She said people from as far away as Europe have asked her to plan their weddings for next year.

"Napa remains¹⁰ beautiful, the wineries are open again and people are here," said Pearson, the supervisor¹¹ at Meadowood resort. "The best way people can support us is to come visit, drink the wine and have a lovely time. Just be sure to call ahead."

Words in This Story

wine – n. an alcoholic¹² drink made from the juice of grapes

region – n. a part of a country (or part of the world) that is different or separate from other parts in some way

winery – n. a place where wine is made

tourist – n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure

club – n. a group of people who meet to participate in an activity, such as a hobby or sport

resort – n. a place where people go for vacations

resident – n. someone who lives in a particular place

1 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

2 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

3 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

4 memberships   

n.全体会员( membership的名词复数 )；会员身份，会员资格

参考例句：

• The memberships of this committee are stacked to give the majority party substantial control. 有人在这个委员会的组成上搞了鬼，以使多数党取得相当多的控制权。 来自辞典例句
• You can specify security group memberships for this user. 您可以为此用户指定安全组成员身份。 来自互联网

5 finance   

n.财务管理，财政，金融，财源，资金

参考例句：

• She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
• A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。

6 supervises   

v.监督，管理( supervise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The group leader supervises a dozen workers. 组长管十二个工人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He makes the wines and supervises the vineyards. 他酿酒并管理葡萄园。 来自辞典例句

7 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

8 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

12 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。