Wildfires in Spain and France hit the world’s two largest wine-growing nations
Wednesday, July 29th 2026 – 07:46 UTC
In France, more than 160,000 hectares have burned and some 13,566 fires or outbreaks have been recorded so far this season
The wildfires affecting Spain and France since mid-July have reached an unprecedented scale in both countries, which together account for nearly a quarter of the world’s vineyard area. Spain declared a national wildfire emergency for the first time, while French President Emmanuel Macron described the situation as the most severe recorded in his country since the Second World War.
In France, more than 160,000 hectares have burned and some 13,566 fires or outbreaks have been recorded so far this season, according to official figures. The largest blaze, in the Gironde department west of Bordeaux, scorched around 42,000 hectares and prompted the biggest peacetime evacuation since the Second World War. Authorities describe it as stabilized but not contained, and warn it could burn for weeks or months.
In Spain, the fire advancing through the province of Ávila, west of Madrid, has become the largest on record in the country. In the Madrid region alone some 28,000 hectares burned and more than 55,000 people were evacuated or confined to their homes. At least one person died in the fires, which coincide with the summer’s fourth heat wave. Across both countries, roughly 330,000 people have been evacuated.
Despite the fire’s proximity to one of the world’s best-known wine regions, Bordeaux’s vineyards have not suffered direct damage, according to the Bordeaux Wine Council. Wine expert Nicolle Croft, based in the city, told CNN that the grapes have not yet reached the ripeness that makes them vulnerable to smoke contamination, known in the industry as smoke taint. The grapes are like very hard, small peas, she said. Sensitivity to the volatile compounds in smoke increases from veraison, the stage when grapes change color, through to harvest.
The sector’s immediate concern remains drought. According to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, Spain has the world’s largest vineyard area, at 919,000 hectares, and France the second, at 740,000, together accounting for 23.7% of the global total. Both entered this season with already reduced harvests: France’s 2025 vintage came in 16% below its five-year average and Spain’s 15% below.
Where direct damage does occur, the effects of fire on vineyards extend beyond the current season: it can destroy irrigation systems and infrastructure, damage the vine’s vascular system, and raise the risk of soil erosion during the following year, particularly if heavy rains arrive at the end of summer.
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