A leading analyst of the U.S. wine business says that the Napa Valley wine industry suffered about $80 million in last month's earthquake -- a total that could still rise to $100 million or more.
That estimate comes from Rob McMillan, an executive vice president with Silicon Valley Bank and founder of its wine division.
McMillan said Tuesday he produced the estimate after a "rush request" last Thursday from Napa County officials putting together an application for federal aid. He derived his estimate based on his firm's own early damage survey, with some last-minute help from industry insiders who responded to a blog callout for information on losses.
McMillan said more damage is being discovered and that "real losses may exceed $100 million." His "most likely" estimate of $80.3 million was designed to give "a balanced versus sensationalized view."
Losses come from a wide range of damage suffered during the quake: damage to buildings and infrastructure, winemaking equipment, cleanup and removal costs, vineyard irrigation, bottled inventory in current release, bottling supplies, finished inventory ready for bottling, bulk wine, barrels, lost revenue from damaged tasting rooms, losses from business interruption and loss of wine held in wine libraries.