Although the Gironde’s catastrophic wildfires spared most vineyards from damage, they drove away visitors, impacted revenues and exposed the vulnerability of Bordeaux’s hospitality sector at the height of the tourist season. db reports.
Last week, thousands of French firefighters battled blazes that burned an area four times the size of Paris in the Gironde region. It’s the largest wildfire the region has seen since 1949, and the worst crisis the country has tackled, according to President Emmanuel Macron, since World War II.
Winemakers even joined the fire-fighting efforts, mobilising equipment and manpower to help snuff the flames that not only scorched 42,000 hectares of land, but also stung the economy, and put pressure on a wine sector already squeezed by soaring costs and a drop in global demand.
In one sense, the region’s world-renowned wineries have dodged the worst of it: vineyards were far away enough to see any real damage, and the quality of the 2026 vintage is unlikely to be impacted by smoke taint, winemakers tell the drinks business. However, the wine tourism sector has not escaped unscathed, with some 224,000 people evacuating the region, including a spate of tourists.
Wine tourism suffers
Oliver Cazevanne saw many cancellations across his two bed-and-breakfast sites at his winery, Château de Bel, situated in Arveyres on the banks of the Dordogne river, despite the fact that smoke only covered the area for just one day.
“Since the fires we have suffered a huge loss of income from tourism,” adds Château La Rame’s Augustin Allo – Armand. “As holidaymakers have deserted the region out of fear, we are seeing a massive drop in visitor numbers, and the restaurants in the Arcachon Basin with whom we work are reporting a more than significant decline in trade. This will undoubtedly have an impact on the sale of our wines in these establishments.”
Peggy Plouhinec, managing director at Château Picque Caillou, also saw a drop in visitor numbers. However, she adds: “Luckily, the smoke didn’t stick around long enough to have an impact on us, especially since we had over 15mm of rain right after. Also, harvest is still quite a way off, so we aren’t worried about smoke taint for the grapes.”
Much attention has been credited to the risk of smoke taint in Bordeaux, which occurs when compounds released by wildfire smoke are absorbed into grape skins. During red wine fermentation, these compounds can be extracted from the skins, potentially giving wines undesirable smoky, ashy or medicinal flavours.
Smoke taint ‘not necessarily a cause for concern’
But smoke taint proves a sticky debate in the wine world. “There’s very little established scientific evidence to date of smoke taint being passed to vines that are not in close proximity to the fire itself — and at present the nearest vineyards are at around 15km from the source of the smoke to which they are exposed,” the drinks business’ Bordeaux correspondent previously told db. “Some vineyards are geographically closer, but the smoke they have experienced has come from further away due to the prevailing wind direction.”
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Marine Martin, international PR for the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin Bordeaux (CIVB), assures that across the region’s wine growing regions, no impact on grape quality has been observed.
“Unfortunately, wildfires are no longer unfamiliar events in our region, which means that we now have some experience in assessing their potential effects with a reasonable degree of confidence,” she told db. “Based on the information currently available, we do not have any particular concerns regarding the quality of the forthcoming vintage.”
She cited scientific research to support her claims: “Smoke itself is not necessarily a cause for concern. Research has shown that smoke taint results from the uptake of specific volatile phenolic compounds, and the risk depends on a combination of factors including proximity, duration of exposure and stage of ripening.
“At this point in the season, harvest remains several weeks away and the grapes are only at the beginning to mid-veraison stage. During this period, the berry skin acts as a natural protective barrier, significantly limiting the absorption of smoke-derived compounds.”
Cité du Vin: ‘the economic effects were immediate’
And chateaux were not the only businesses impacted in the wine sector. In the city of Bordeaux, the celebrated interactive wine museum, Cité du Vin, which teeters over the city like a swirling wine glass, was also hit hard in terms of trade. While the cultural centre, which toasts its 10th anniversary this year, only had to close one hour early on one day due to the smell of smoke, visitor numbers sharply dropped.
“Some roads were closed, trains were cancelled, and the Government advised against travelling to the region,” said Solène Jaboulet, marketing and communications director at the museum which toasts its 10th anniversary this year.
Until 25 July, visitor numbers were the same as last year’s, but they suddenly dropped by 60% through the end of July.
“The economic effects were immediate as well,” Jaboulet added. “80% of our revenue comes from visitor spending (70% from the ticket sales and 10% from the gift shop). So you can easily imagine the economic impact.”
But now, she’s relieved to see tourism rebounding. “We welcome more visitors every day, all of whom are delighted with their visit. The region is safe and beautiful and we encourage all lovers of France and wine to come along.”
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