As many of you have read in recent days, wildfires in Northern California have threatened vineyards and wineries. Wildfires are nothing new in Washington wine country, where the arid climes of the Columbia Valley create conditions that set off blazes annually, usually in August. It's something we've learned to live with.

A Connecticut-based company is arriving in Kennewick, Wash., with a message for local wineries: "Put a cork in it!"