Wildfires in Northern Portugal continue to grip the entire country. As of Wednesday evening, around 4,900 firefighters were battling 129 active blazes. The situation is now more under control compared to Tuesday.
The fires have impacted parts of the wine regions of Vinho Verde, Bairrada, and most severely, Dão. In terms of vineyard damage, the situation is reminiscent of the massive wildfires of October 2017, when a hurricane intensified several fires and spread them across much of Portugal. However, the years are not comparable when considering the loss of life and meteorological effects.
Dão is experiencing the largest and most widespread fires. The towns of Penalva do Castelo, Nelas, and Carregal do Sal are the hardest hit, but far from the only ones affected. Notable producers like Taboadella and Júlia Kemper are in the impacted areas, though no reports of damage have emerged from them yet.
With firefighters unable to protect agricultural buildings, some winemakers are forced to defend their properties themselves. One such example is Florian Tonello, a French winemaker in Mangualde, who produces wine under the Ladidadi label and also imports wines from Germany to Portugal. According to Frank Kreisel from the German blog vinhoportugal, who is on-site, Tonello had to personally defend his vineyard, and roughly half of Ladidadi's vineyards have fallen victim to the flames.
Even worse off is João Tavares de Pina, who has lost 12 ha/30 ac of vineyards—nearly his entire estate—along with his home. Kreisel reports that firefighting planes are continuously in the air, and the sound of sirens is constant.
In 2017, the Casa de Mouraz winery was one of the hardest hit. This year, however, they have been spared so far, according to winemaker Antonio Lopes Ribeiro, who spoke to the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos.
In the Vinho Verde region, A&D Wines appears to be one of the largest victims, according to Revista de Vinhos. The producer owns several vineyards, including those in Espinhosos, near the Douro border, where fires are currently raging. In the Bairrada region, the vineyards seem to have been spared. While there are significant fires in the area, they don't appear to be affecting the wine-producing regions directly. MS
