A faint smoke haze lies over the vineyard Adega 23 in Sarnadas de Ródão in central Portugal.
They are starting to get sweet, says the winemaker José Hispólito and tastes one of the blue-purple grapes that grow in clusters on the vines.
About 30 kilometers from his vineyard, a large forest fire is raging. The concern for fires is constantly present. He has cleared a large field towards the forest, to create a buffer zone.
If the fire comes, it's a matter of seconds. We have to be prepared, he says.
We lay out hoses outside to protect, and we have a pond that a helicopter can possibly use in the firefighting efforts, he explains.
"Going into the shell"
This summer's fires in parts of Europe have hit hard against winemakers in some regions. Some farms have burned down, others have seen the harvest go lost.
The fires are larger than ever, especially in wine districts. We have seen this in California and Australia before, but not in Europe to the same extent, says champagne expert Fredrik Schelin.
Even farms that are not directly affected can be affected by the smoke clouds that have covered enormous areas.
The smoke particles go into the shells of the grapes. It can't be washed away, it simply becomes smoke-damaged grapes. It affects both taste and smell, and it's not positive, he says.
The wine simply tastes smoky. In modern wine production, it is possible to filter away some of the particles, but not completely, according to him.
If you buy a wine from the affected districts, you will absolutely feel it directly.
There is an overproduction of wine in Europe, so the effect will probably be limited, Schelin believes.
But for the future, this is a big warning sign for Europe, that we are also affected just like other warmer countries by these large fires.
Most affected
The climate changes are also becoming increasingly clear. A study presented in the journal Plos Climate in May showed that Europe has been most affected of the continents, with more days with an average temperature above 35 degrees that can lead to smaller wine harvests and heat-damaged grapes.
If this continues with fires, heat and drought, it will be a problem, and that has been warned about throughout Europe, says Schelin.
José Hispólito hopes and believes that the light smoke over his farm will not give flavor to this year's harvest, which nowadays takes place three weeks earlier than 20 years ago.
Everyone who works with, lives off or is dependent on agriculture must be concerned. At the same time, we have in this region always lived under difficult conditions, with hot summers and cold winters, he says.
Gustav Sjöholm/TT
Facts: Forest fires in Europe
TT
So far this year, more than one million hectares have burned in EU countries, an area larger than the entire Östergötland. It is more than what has burned any year between 2006 and 2024, and almost four times as high as the average at this time of year (278,000 hectares).
Most affected in total area is Spain (412,500 hectares), followed by Portugal, Romania, Italy, and Greece.
In relation to the total land area, Portugal is the most affected, where almost 3 percent of the land area has been ravaged by fire, followed by Cyprus and Spain.
Source: Copernicus (Effis)
