Wildfires: Provence wine producers assess impact of destruction

Rosé winemakers in south-east France are assessing the impact of wildfires which began last week.

The blaze broke out in the Var region, close to the French Riviera, and was spread by strong winds.

Provence's wine producers' association, the CIVP, said it was unclear how much damage had been caused, and in-depth assessments were underway.

One winery owner told the BBC that any hit to supplies was likely to push up prices.

On Thursday, the National Federation of Agricultural Workers' Unions (FNSEA) said that although fires had mainly hit forests, several wine-growing areas were also heavily affected. It estimated the figure at 73 wineries and 5 cooperatives.

Jeany and Stephen Cronk are the founders of the Maison Mirabeau winery. The couple also bought their own vineyard, Domaine Mirabeau, in 2019.

"There are three vineyards close to us which have been completely destroyed, it's truly devastating," Mr Cronk said. At the Domaine, there is damage to the vines, outbuildings and surrounding forest.

The impact on their crop isn't yet clear, because they say smoke taint may not be immediately obvious.

"For us, it's uncertain whether we will harvest or not," he said. "Personally, it's heartbreaking. We've been hit by two 'once-in-a-generation' frosts, and now comes the worst forest fire in decades."

Mr Cronk said: "We need to think more about climate change, and whether we are doing enough to protect these forests.

"We hope this will serve as a further wakeup call that these types of events will be more frequent and more devastating. We must do our best to prevent them from happening again."

He said he believed that, depending on the damage, the impact on supply could make wines from the region more expensive. He also argues landowners next to protected areas of forest should have permission to clear encroaching bushes off their land and create firebreaks, to reduce the risk.

Alexis Cornu, head winemaker at the MDCV group of estates and vineyards in Provence, said the main road between the estates had been briefly closed for safety reasons, but that the hard work of firemen had prevented the fire reaching their buildings.

Mr Cornu said no risk to supply was expected in the coming weeks. However, the fires had not yet been completely stopped.

When it's possible, the group plans to deploy a drone to judge how the vines have coped. But with power and water back on, they hope to be ready to start their harvest in the next few days.

"So far so good, it looks green,, Mr Cornu added. He said there was anger at the rules forbidding bush cutting or clearing, saying risk around the estates had been rising for years.

Fire is the latest problem to hit French wine producers. In April, rare deep frosts destroyed buds on grapevines in the vineyards of Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Languedoc and the Rhône valley.