Smoke and fire threaten centuries of wine heritage

In recent years, wildfires have emerged as a grave threat to the world's wine-producing regions. Once relatively rare, large fires near vineyards are now striking with increasing frequency and intensity. Scientists and industry experts point to climate change—rising temperatures, droughts, and extreme weather—as a key driver making fire seasons longer and more severe. Warmer conditions dry out vegetation and create tinderbox landscapes in traditionally moderate climates, setting the stage for catastrophic fires. This report provides a historical timeline of major wildfires that have devastated wine regions globally, examines their connection to global warming, and discusses projections for the future if current trends continue. The goal is to inform wine sector professionals—vineyard owners, winemakers, and industry leaders—about the scale of the challenge and the urgent need for climate resilience planning.

Wildfires have been part of natural history, but significant fires impacting vineyards were relatively infrequent or localized before the 21st century. Over the past two decades, however, virtually every major wine-producing country has experienced unprecedented wildfire events with severe consequences for vineyards and wineries. In February 1983, the "Ash Wednesday" fires in South Australia and Victoria burned through parts of the Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley, destroying vineyards and even winery buildings such as Geoff Weaver's new Lenswood estate. The disaster claimed 75 lives and was one of the first modern examples of a wildfire devastating established wine regions.

In the summer of 2003, southern Europe endured record heat, with Portugal suffering its worst fire season in modern history as around 425,000 hectares burned. The flames threatened vineyards in the Douro Valley, and although damage was limited compared to forests, the scale of the event signaled the emerging connection between extreme heat and fire risk in Mediterranean wine zones.

Northern California experienced a turning point in June 2008 when thousands of dry-lightning fires blanketed Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino in smoke. Vineyards in Mendocino absorbed so much smoke that many wines from that year were ruined, marking the first time California faced widespread "smoke taint." The following year, in February 2009, Victoria's "Black Saturday" fires killed 173 people and destroyed vineyards and wineries in the Yarra Valley during record-breaking heat of up to 47°C. This event showed the lethal mix of drought, extreme heat, and wildfire in premium wine areas.

By September 2015, Northern California saw the Valley Fire in Lake County, which destroyed one winery and damaged vineyards near Napa and Sonoma. The impact was worsened by road closures and evacuations during harvest. A year later, in 2016, wildfires swept through the Corbières hills of Languedoc in France, damaging vineyards and singeing grapes just before harvest. The fire demonstrated that French appellations were also vulnerable to drought-driven blazes.

In October 2017, California's wine industry suffered one of its darkest moments when wind-driven fires swept through Napa and Sonoma. The Atlas, Tubbs, and Nuns fires destroyed at least 5,600 structures, killed 44 people, and burned over 60,000 hectares. Wineries such as Paradise Ridge and Signorello were lost, and while most grapes had already been harvested, smoke and infrastructure damage caused more than \$200 million in losses. That same year, Chile endured its worst wildfire season on record, with 600,000 hectares burned across central regions including Maule and Itata. Hundreds of hectares of heritage vineyards, some over 100 years old, were destroyed. Portugal and Spain also faced catastrophic fires in 2017, with Portugal recording 520,000 hectares burned and over 100 fatalities.

In early 2017, South Africa faced a major fire near Cape Town that burned 40 percent of the Vergelegen Estate. Although the historic manor and cellars were saved, vines at Vergelegen, Lourensford, and Morgenster were damaged. The country was in the midst of a severe drought, highlighting how drying conditions were making the Cape winelands more flammable.

The cycle continued with the deadly 2018 Camp Fire in California, which blanketed the state in smoke. Earlier that year, the Mendocino Complex Fire became California's largest fire by area, burning near wine country. These disasters pushed the industry to invest in smoke taint research. By late 2019, the Kincade Fire in Sonoma destroyed Soda Rock Winery and forced mass evacuations. At the same time, South Australia's Cudlee Creek Fire devastated the Adelaide Hills, destroying about one-third of the region's vineyards.

The following summer, Australia endured the "Black Summer" of 2019–2020, with 24 million hectares burned nationwide. Wine regions including the Adelaide Hills, Kangaroo Island, and Canberra District were devastated, with smoke wiping out entire vintages. In California, 2020 brought the largest fire season in the state's history, with 4.2 million acres burned. The Glass Fire in Napa destroyed at least 18 wineries, including Newton Vineyard and Cain Winery, and forced many producers to skip releasing a 2020 red vintage due to smoke contamination.

By 2021, fires again struck Mediterranean Europe, Sardinia, and Greece, while the Pacific Northwest faced smoke exposure from the Dixie Fire. Europe recorded its hottest summer in 2022, and wildfires destroyed 785,000 hectares. France battled its largest fires since 1949, and Spain saw blazes in Castilla y León and Zamora damaging vineyards. Portugal, too, lost over 120,000 hectares.

In February 2023, Chile once again faced catastrophic fires in Ñuble and Bío-Bío, burning more than 400,000 hectares and destroying old-vine País and Cinsault vineyards. Entire small wineries were wiped out, and the cultural loss was immense. That same year, Greece's Evros fire burned 81,000 hectares, while Canada's Okanagan Valley saw vineyards and one winery lost to wildfires.

The summer of 2025 has marked a new record in Europe. Galicia in Spain saw its most devastating wildfire on record, with 30,000 hectares burned in Valdeorras and other appellations. Portugal's Douro Superior lost century-old vines, while in southern France, the Aude department faced its worst fire since 1949. The blaze destroyed up to 1,500 hectares of vineyards in Corbières and Minervois. Across Europe, more than one million hectares had burned by late August 2025, surpassing all previous records.

The link between climate change and wildfire risk in wine regions is clear. Rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and erratic rainfall create flammable conditions, while extreme winds and lightning storms trigger fires. In California, 10 of the 20 largest wildfires on record occurred in 2020 and 2021, and the annual area burned has increased five-fold compared to the 1970s. Europe has also seen escalating fire seasons, with 2022 and 2025 both breaking records for area burned. Australia's Black Summer was made at least 30 percent more likely by climate change, according to scientific studies. South Africa's Cape has grown hotter and drier, increasing its risk as well.

Wine regions, finely tuned to narrow climate niches, are among the first to feel these shifts. Whereas fires were once considered rare in Bordeaux, Tuscany, or Napa, today they are a constant risk. Scientists warn that what is now considered extreme will soon be average. Longer fire seasons, more intense fire weather, and greater destruction are expected.

Adaptation is already underway. Some vineyards act as natural firebreaks when well maintained, and growers are now clearing brush, creating defensible spaces, and employing livestock to reduce fuels. Wineries are rebuilding with fire-resistant materials and installing rooftop sprinklers and on-site firefighting systems. Smoke taint research has advanced, with scientists studying the compounds responsible and testing vineyard sprays and winemaking filters to mitigate damage.

Regions are also investing in early warning and rapid response systems, using drones, satellites, and weather stations to detect fire risk. In some cases, growers are reconsidering grape varieties, shifting toward more heat- and smoke-tolerant types. Others are diversifying vineyards across regions to spread risk. Yet despite these measures, the underlying challenge remains climate change itself. Without global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, projections show extreme wildfire events increasing by up to 50 percent by the end of the century.

If warming continues toward 2.5–3°C, as current trajectories suggest, wildfires like those of 2017, 2020, and 2025 could become almost routine by mid-century. Insurance costs are already climbing, and some wineries struggle to find coverage. Small producers face the risk of closure or relocation. Even prestigious regions like Napa, Bordeaux, or Barossa could see multiple bad vintages within a decade due to smoke or fire losses.

The cultural weight of wine adds urgency. Vineyards cannot easily be relocated, and the heritage tied to terroir cannot be replaced. Wine regions are therefore both victims and advocates in the climate debate. From Napa to Champagne, vintners are now speaking out about sustainability, reducing their carbon footprints, and urging action. Their plight is highly visible, and images of famous vineyards turned to ash have captured public attention in ways that technical climate reports cannot.

At the same time, innovation is accelerating. Fire-smart vineyard design, new grape varieties, resilient rootstocks, robotic vineyard tools, and advanced firefighting coordination are all being tested. These efforts may help buy time, but experts agree that only a global reduction in emissions can truly address the root cause of worsening wildfires. Until then, wine regions must brace for more summers like 2025, where fire and smoke determine not just the fate of a vintage, but the future of entire wine communities.