The city of Napa continued to dig out from under the late-summer earthquake, now reported to be the biggest one in a century, but not quite yet the Big One. Numerous fault lines emerged as the cleanup and aftermath moved into a second week.

One big fault-line in this ongoing saga has jumped out.

As the national press took note of the 6.0 quake and its pricey aftermath, we noted a disconnect between a broadly construed class issue and its intersection with editorial judgment at big-city magazines.

Those magazines and newspapers hear the distant and disturbing words “earthquake” and “Napa Valley,” and get sideways with grief at the thought of all that ruined wine. For example, The New Yorker magazine saw fit to dispatch a reporter to the post-earthquake scene almost immediately after the facades crashed to the sidewalks there.

The New Yorker writer dutifully reported on the damage to the city of Napa and also made large amounts of hay over a privately owned and operated drone that’s been making the Napa rounds as it scoots in and around the damaged buildings, shooting video for your voyeuristic pleasure.

The Labor Day weekend did remind the Debriefer that the comparatively scruffy city of Vallejo also got hit by that same earthquake.

The big difference? They don’t make wine in Vallejo. There’s lots of brown people in Vallejo. There are no private drones zipping around to shoot crumpled facades there. In other words, Vallejo is not
The New Yorker demographic.

Leave it to the working men and women at the humble Associated Press, which did send a reporter to Vallejo last week. The news agency’s report highlighted the city’s struggles with bankruptcy, and was shot-through with a theme of newfound resilience in the face of the quake.

The upshot from the AP is that that Vallejo took a pretty big hit, too, just like the city of Napa: millions of dollars in damage, dozens sent to the hospital.

But there’s no iconic visual grab in Vallejo—no toppled oak casks or broken wine bottles to stir the emotional heartstrings of concerned New Yorkers.

Back in the city of Napa, life was getting back to normal after the Labor Day holiday weekend, by all appearances. Celebs and other volunteers made the scene all through the week, distributing goods and volunteering services to the locals—and the local paper of record continued to tally the damage, which is expected to eclipse $1 billion before it’s all over.

One key indicator of normalcy: the Napa Valley Register reported that Velo Pizzeria reopened on Main Street.

We’ll know things are really back to normal when there’s a meth-house bust reported in the Napa paper. But we won’t hold our breath waiting for The New Yorker follow-up.

John Trinidad, a wine industry attorney who lives on Main Street in Napa, was cleaning up from a party when his home started shaking.

“At first, I thought it was a little roller,” he explained. “But then, it got pretty violent, with full-on shaking. I had already braced myself, so just kind of rode it out, but heard a lot of things crashing around me. After the shaking stopped, I looked around and, yep, a lot had come out of the cupboard—broken glass, broken plates, lots of things on the ground.”

The 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Napa County on Aug. 24 was the strongest California had experienced in 25 years.

The media quickly turned its attention to wine—and the economic impact of the quake. Although Napa Valley accounts for less than 4 percent of America’s total wine production, it’s the country’s best-known wine region. And it’s a big moneymaker. The region’s wine industry has an economic impact of $50 billion annually.

At its heart, though, Napa Valley is a working-class, farming community. And in the wake of the earthquake, brand Napa Valley—$300 “cult” Cabernets, Michelin-starred restaurants and the like—was overshadowed by kinship and kindness.

Alexandra Evans moved to the region from Washington, D.C., just nine months ago. She was floored by the generosity she witnessed.

“People up north—Calistoga,
St. Helena—really weren’t affected. But they were offering to help in any way they could,” she said. “Coming from a big city, you don’t necessarily expect to know your neighbors. Here, people loaded up their cars with food and water to help neighbors they’d never even met. The presence of community was impressive.”

On Facebook, Back Room Wines, a wine shop in downtown Napa, urged locals to bring by “stained and slightly damaged bottles” to share. “Talk about your week if you want, or just listen,” the invite urged.

Cadet Wine & Beer Bar, a popular hangout that lost more than $15,000 in wine, took to Facebook and Instagram to invite locals by for beer. “We lost some wine but the beer taps are untouched,” the owners urged. “Come by today for beer on us.”

As vintners posted heartbreaking photos, locals responded with an all-hands-on-deck mentality. “Wineries offered tank space, barrels, forklifts—even just elbow grease—to the wineries that were hit,” Evans said.

Esteemed winemaker Steve Matthiasson tweeted devastating photos. The earthquake sent all his 2013 barrels tumbling to the ground and forced his family to move out of their 1905 farmhouse. Yet when the Matthiassons turned to their customers for support, it was to raise money for the Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund through a limited-release wine.

As wine writer John Brooks noted in an email to friends, “This strikes me as extraordinary. At a time when they’ve suffered significant damage to their home and their business, the Matthiassons have chosen to prioritize others ahead of themselves.”

After touring Napa’s wreckage for much of the morning on Aug. 24, John Trinidad rested on his front porch with friends. As stories were shared, Matt Naumann, assistant winemaker at Failla, walked by with his young daughter.

“How’d you guys do?” Trinidad asked.

“Last night, we wiggled!” replied Naumann’s daughter, dancing to animate the answer.

“To see a kid with that reaction was perfect,” he explained. “We’re all healthy. No one is hurt. Napa is an amazingly strong, resilient community. We’ll be OK.”

David White is the founder and editor of Terroirist.com, which was named ‘Best Overall Wine Blog’ at the 2013 Wine Blog Awards. His columns are housed at Grape Collective.