Worst wildfire in southern France since 2003 leaves winemakers "devastated"

A devastating wildfire is currently sweeping through the south of France, with over 1,200 firefighters deployed in a battle to try and contain the blaze.  

So far, the fire which broke out last Monday morning in the Var region of southern France, and believed to have been sparked by a cigarette butt, has claimed two lives and burned over 7,000 hectares of land.   The fire has since spread to the Côtes de Provence region, fanned by hot dry conditions and the Mistral wind which is blowing particularly strongly at the moment.

According to a report in Decanter, 5,000 ha of land had been swallowed up by the fire by the following day (17th August), with three of the four wine estates of the MDCV group including Ultimate Provence, Chateau St Roux and Chateau des Bertrands being affected and evacuated on the 17th.

Jeany Cronk, the co-founder of Domaine Mirabeau posted pictures on Instagram, revealing the extent of damage caused by the blaze at her Provence estate. “We’re lucky to have this view of our battered and charred farm,” she posted. “This is down to five trucks of firefighters and our farmer Anthony who refused to let the houses and animals go to a devastating wall of fire coming at them.   “The remains of the smouldering outbuildings tell their tale of how violent and close it was. The vines are particularly impacted, and there will likely be no harvest time for those that made it. Sadly the wind is up and it’s not even over, though not much left to burn around us.”  

Cronk’s partner Stephen Cronk described the situation as “completely devastating” with damage to the vines, outbuildings and surrounding forest. The impact on their crop isn’t yet clear, because they say the smoke taint may not be immediately obvious. “For us it’s uncertain whether we will harvest or not,” he told the BBC. “Personally it’s hearbreaking. We’ve been hit by two once in a generation frosts and now comes the worst forest fire in decades.”  

He added that depending on the damage, the impact on supply could make wines from the region more expensive. He also argued that landowners next to protected areas of forest should have permission to clear encroaching bushes off their land and create firebreaks, to reduce the risk. The Cronks are not currently permitted to cut into the surrounding forest area because it is part of a nature reserve.      

Eric Pastorino, President of Provence’s wine producers’ association the CIVP and a winemaker in Gonfaron, said that following the 2003 fires, producers had presented a strong case for fire breaks and management of vegetation to prevent further outbreaks. However, opposition from ecologists, concerned with protecting the natural park and endangered species meant that no fire breaks were ever installed.    

Despite these difficulties, some winemakers are still optimistic that they will be able to start their harvest by early September, grateful for the minimal skin contact required for producing rose wine, thereby reducing the effects of any smoke taint.  

This is the worst wildfire in the south of France since the incredibly hot summer of 2003 though fire is just 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.