Can California’s top wine region survive the era of megafire?

As the climate crisis brings increasingly unpredictable fire seasons, the future of the $43bn industry is uncertain

The Silverado Trail, a two-lane road that weaves through the bucolic hillsides in the heart of California's wine country, is the quintessential vision of Napa Valley. Home to dozens of wineries, it is a destination within a destination - one that welcomes both vacationing imbibers and oenophiles from around the world.

But recently the amber hillsides have been laced with the ashen aftermath of wildfires that have torn through the region, leaving behind charred rubble that is fast becoming as much a part of the landscape as the neatly trussed rows of vines.