French winemakers face anxious wait as wildfire smoke threatens rosé vintage
Summer blazes in the Var region have left vineyards intact but grapes potentially contaminated by smoke compounds that only reveal themselves after fermentation.
Winemakers in France's main rosé-producing region are waiting on laboratory results to discover whether this year's vintage has been ruined by smoke from summer wildfires. Flames swept through the Var department in recent weeks, destroying more than 6,000 hectares of land and forcing thousands to evacuate, including George Clooney and his family. While many vineyards escaped direct burning, the smoke that blanketed the vines may have already sealed the fate of thousands of bottles.
At his 25-hectare estate in the village of Correns, Gregory Guibergia surveys vines that were scorched only at the edges. The real damage, he fears, is invisible. An hour or two of smoke exposure is enough to bind volatile phenols to the sugars in grapes through a process called glycosylation, explains oenology consultant Clement Prelat. That smoky character stays locked away until fermentation, when it emerges as an unwelcome flavour profile.
Testing the harvest
In neighbouring Ponteves, Lucie Demirdjian lost 11 of her 18 hectares to the flames. She is holding off on harvesting the surviving vines until lab tests confirm the fruit is clean. "We know what to do for frost or hail, but not wildfires," she said. The uncertainty is costly: picking grapes that ultimately cannot be sold wastes labour and money, while leaving clean fruit on the vine risks over-ripening.
So far, the only vineyards officially declared unfit for winemaking are those coated in fire retardant dropped by water-bombing aircraft, according to agricultural engineer Gregori Lanza. Smoke-tainted wine is not necessarily unsafe to drink, but it is commercially toxic. "It's not a sought-after taste in wines, so even if they're still drinkable, they won't be marketed," Lanza predicted.
Limited remedies
Winemakers are exploring a handful of mitigation techniques. Activated charcoal can strip smoke compounds from rosé and white wines, said Fabien Mistre of the Correns cooperative, pointing to trials conducted after last year's fires. Guibergia plans to vinify his crop in separate batches to isolate any contaminated lots. But insurance policies do not cover losses from flavour changes, and Mistre insists he would rather dump his production than sell wine that smells "like smoked ham".
Harvest begins next week. For the 30,000 hectares of vineyards across the region, the coming days will determine whether 2024 joins the list of vintages lost not to fire, but to its invisible aftermath.
