Wildfires threaten Bordeaux vineyards, raising fears for France's 2026 vintage

One of the largest fires in modern French history was raging near Bordeaux’s vineyards in late July, forcing winemakers to brace for damage that could hit the 2026 vintage even if the flames never reached the vines. President Emmanuel Macron said the wildfires were France’s worst wave since World War II.

The danger was not limited to burned fields. Smoke taint, which can alter grapes after exposure to smoke, was a major concern across Bordeaux because it can spoil fruit without fire touching the vineyards themselves. Firefighters, winemakers and residents worked to keep the blazes away from the region’s wine country as blistering heat, drought and strong winds drove the fires across southwest France. About 220,000 people were evacuated in France, and more than 75,000 were told to leave their homes in Spain as the wider crisis spread.

At Château Smith Haut Lafitte, owner Florence Cathiard said the fires threatened her grape crops and way of life. Managing director Ludovic Fradin called the situation “quite scary” and said the forest around the estate needed to be rethought.

The Bordeaux vineyards had faced a similar scare in 2022, when fires in Gironde burned thousands of hectares of forest near the vines. Later grape tests suggested that the 2022 harvest would not carry a smoky taste. This time, even vineyards spared by the flames still faced the prospect that smoke and heat stress could weaken the crop before it is ever bottled.