Historic Vineyards Burn as Wildfires Ravage Spain

Several men work in the grape harvest, in a vineyard of the Las Moradas de San Martín winery, on Aug. 21, 2021, in Madrid, Spain. (Photo: Europa Press via AP)

Historic vineyards in Spain’s Sierra de Gredos wine region have been damaged or destroyed as one of the country’s most destructive recent wildfires continues to burn through the province of Ávila.

According to The Drinks Business, the Burgohondo wildfire has scorched more than 50,000 hectares since igniting near the town of Burgohondo last week, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate while threatening some of Spain’s oldest Garnacha and Albillo Real vineyards.

Although firefighters have largely contained the fire’s perimeter, several fronts remained active as of July 26, leaving many winegrowers unable to assess the full extent of the damage.

Among the confirmed losses is the historic San Gregorio vineyard owned by Bodega El Reventón, whose old vines date back to the 1920s.

“We have suffered huge damage to our historic San Gregorio vineyard, whose wonderful grapes make one of our two single-parcel wines,” co-founder Gearóid Lane told The Drinks Business.

“We are working to assess the extent of the damage to these old vines, some of which date back to the 1920s. We are heartbroken, but Alejandro, Adrianna and I are unwavering in our dedication to this wonderful region.”

The winery is jointly owned by Lane, Adrianna Catena and renowned Argentine winemaker Alejandro Vigil.

Other producers across Sierra de Gredos are also reporting vineyard losses.

Chuchi Soto, founder of Soto Manrique, said one of his vineyards in Cebreros was destroyed while the fate of several other plots remains uncertain.

“The vineyards in the Gredos area lie in mountainous terrain surrounded by woodland,” Soto told The Drinks Business. “They are small plots enclosed by trees and vegetation that are left to grow unchecked. This is what makes the area so distinctive, but also so dangerous.”

Soto argued that strict environmental regulations limiting vegetation management have made it more difficult to reduce wildfire risk in the region.

Meanwhile, Indiano Wines said it lost several old vines after flames surrounded one of its vineyards. However, the winery credited maintained firebreaks and cleared vineyard rows with preventing even greater losses.

“The problem is the lack of resources to manage the land and care for the region throughout the year,” Indiano co-founder and viticulturist Charly Gotchac told the publication. “We need the firebreaks to be maintained throughout the year. They are vital.”

Gotchac warned that the threat is far from over as Spain enters August, traditionally the country’s highest-risk month for wildfires.

For many producers, the greatest concern extends beyond this year’s harvest.

“The Gredos we know and love no longer exists,” Las Pedreras co-founder and winemaker Bárbara Requejo told The Drinks Business. “This catastrophe, which seems to have no end, has destroyed our landscape, our greatest asset, and will have catastrophic consequences for the region’s economy.”

At the time of publication, no organized fundraising campaign had been established to support the region’s wine community. Producers told The Drinks Business that purchasing wines from Sierra de Gredos remains one of the most immediate ways consumers can help support wineries as they begin recovering from the disaster.