▻ Bordeaux’s Wildfires
In conversation with Jane Anson
Episode Summary:-
The past week, wildfires in the Bordeaux region have made headlines around the world. Jane Anson, author of Inside Bordeaux and local resident, talks to Sarah Kemp about the devastating impact on the region and discusses whether there might be smoke-taint risk in some of the wines.
The fires, which began on 22nd July, are the largest seen since 1949; 224,000 people were evacuated across 23 communes (55,000 in one single night). The exhibition centre, a familiar place to the wine trade, as it was the home of VinExpo for many years, became the evacuation camp. The fires, which are now under more control, came to within 15km of the city of Bordeaux and when the wind direction changed, smoke hung over Bordeaux city. Jane admits, “we all became experts in wind direction.”
The UGC has put out a positive statement that the vines are not affected, but Jane reflects that while she believes most haven’t been, she would urge a word of caution, and that she knows that behind the scenes the Bordeaux consultants, many of whom have experience of smoke taint in Napa, are working closely with the producers to ensure the grapes are not affected in the regions closest to the fires.
The biggest risk comes at véraison (when the grapes change colour as they ripen), so the risk to a vineyard depends on where in the cycle the grapes are, Jane explains. One immediate impact is a drop in tourism (50-80% drop in July across Aquitaine), and while visitors were urged not to come to Bordeaux while the fires were raging, there is now a push to welcome visitors back.
Jane states there is no definitive answer to smoke taint yet, and many parts of Bordeaux will not have been affected, but cautions that those closer to the fire will need assessing.
The one positive from the wildfires is the confirmation of the love of Bordeaux and the worldwide interest in it, with the world’s media and wine lovers contacting Jane for updates.
““224,000 people were evacuated, 55,000 in one night” ”
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Further Information:-
Wine Conversation listeners can subscribe to Jane’s report with a special 15% discount by entering GEP2515 on www.janeanson.com
Jane Anson talks to Sarah Kemp about the impact on the region and the effect on the wine industry.