He thinks that especially the wines from the Graves wine region will suffer from a smoky aftertaste, but other wine regions close to the fire zones are also at risk.
The smoke from the forest fires can settle on the skin of the grapes, after which the flavor penetrates into the grape. This is then released again during the fermentation and maturation of the wine.
To what extent this year’s vintage will be affected by the forest fires remains to be seen, says Teissedre. The moment of truth is after vinification, when the wines are actually made. “It’s a bit of a ticking time bomb,” said the vinologist.