Large forest fires have swept across Europe this summer, and the question of smoke tainted grapes has been widely discussed. It’s an issue that has been relevant for years in places like California and Australia, regions long affected by annual, large scale wildfires. How do these fires impact wine grapes? Research is ongoing, and our understanding is steadily improving.
Laboratoire Dubernet in southern France has studied the subject. If a vineyard is 100 metres from the fire, the risk of smoke damage to the grapes is high. At 500 metres, the risk drops significantly. At a distance of one kilometre, analyses generally show no impact at all on the harvest, even in the case of very large fires. Wind direction must, however, be taken into account, and above all the stage of grape development.
The vine becomes sensitive from the moment the berries reach “pea size” (stade petit pois). The risk becomes particularly high one week after véraison (when the grapes change colour) and continues all the way to harvest.
In other words, although there may be a slight risk that a small number of Bordeaux wines may get smoke taint this year, the probability seems very small.
The risk is greater in some other areas, for example in Languedoc and Spain that have had fires in close proximity to the vineyards.
Read more: vitisphere.
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Travel: Come on a wine tour to Bordeaux with BKWine. (PS: We’ve written a prize-winning book on Bordeaux.)
