(JTA) — Hagafen Cellars, the only kosher winery in the Napa Valley and Sonoma, partially opened despite sustaining heavy damage in the wildfires racing through the area.

The winery’s tasting room reopened on Monday morning, and “We’re waiting now for our first tourist,” owner and winemaker Ernie Weir told J. The Jewish News of Northern California.

Several buildings and virtually all of the winery’s agricultural equipment were destroyed in the fire. And while one of the winery’s 12 acres of vineyards was burned, the grapes already had been harvested. The inventory remained intact as well.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

There are hundreds of wineries in the region and most were forced to close in the first days of the fires, which have been burning for more than a week. Some of the wineries burned to the ground, according to J.

There have been at least 41 deaths reported from the northern California wildfires and more than 80 people remain missing. The fires have burned over 217,000 acres and destroyed more than 5,700 homes and other structures. Damage estimates have topped $3 billion.

As of Monday night some 60 percent of the fires were reported contained, with rain in the forecast for later in the week.

The Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, The Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties reported that as of Monday evening the nine local synagogues in the path of the fires were unharmed, as well as the JCC of Sonoma County.

At least 21 local Jewish families have lost their homes in the fires, and are currently sheltering in one of the synagogues, with the others working to help provide the families with meals. IsraAid is also on the scene, providing supplies and grief counseling, according to the Federation. In addition, representatives from Sonoma County Chabad Jewish Center and Chabad Jewish Center of Petaluma have been visiting emergency centers and providing support, as well as meals via Oakland Kosher.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount