(30 Jul 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sadirac, France – 29 July 2026
1. Le Gris de la Salle, Co-Manager of Château le Grand Verdus walking through rows of grapevines at Château le Grand Verdus
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Edouard Le Grix de la Salle, Co-Manager of Château le Grand Verdus: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 3-5++
“We lost about 30% of the flow of the tourists. So yes, we are impacted and we are obliged to cancel our “Ginguette”, it’s a party on Friday night and we are obliged to cancel because everything is cancelled in the Bordeaux region, Gironde, every cultural event and sporting as well”
3. Grapevines at Château le Grand Verdus
4. Various of ripe grapes hanging on the vine at Château le Grand Verdus
5. Various of Château le Grand Verdus
6. Various of vineyards at Château le Grand Verdus in Gironde, France
7. Wide of Château le Grand Verdus surrounded by dry landscape
8. Wide of signage directing visitors to the boutique and wine shop amidst the wildfire impact on the wine industry
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Edouard Le Grix de la Salle, Co-Manager of Château le Grand Verdus: ++SOUNDBITE IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 6-8++
“We had a very big heat wave in in 2022. We had lost about half of the the yields of the grapes and this year it will be almost the same.”
10. Winery staff preparing for a tasting session at Château le Grand Verdus amidst wildfire concerns
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Elodie Rolland, Head of Wine Tourism and Communications for Château le Grand Verdus: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 12-15++
“This year with the fires, yes, we have less visitors, unfortunately, a third less than previous years, but they came, but to give you an idea, we had one cancel a tour on Monday. It was a family from the UK and they were worried about the quality of the air, so they cancelled. But, we are optimist.”
12. Wine enthusiasts engaging in a tasting session at Château le Grand Verdus
13. Wine glasses on a table
14. People tasting wine
15. Château le Grand Verdus wine bottles
STORYLINE:
From his vineyards in Bordeaux wine country, Edouard Le Grix de la Salle can sometimes smell the burning forests far away.
The smoke brings a whiff of hardship for the region’s economic fortunes.
Wildfires that have burned an area four times the size of Paris and driven 220,000 people from homes and some of the region’s tourist attractions promise to sting France’s already squeezed economy.
Le Grix de la Salle is among entrepreneurs bracing for pain. French government appeals for people to avoid the region are causing consternation.
Bordeaux’s legendary wine has seen consumption plunge as young people turn to other beverages and competition from vineyards abroad has grown.
U.S. President Donald Trump ’s tariffs have given winemakers — and much of the global economy — an added hangover.
His family’s Grand Verdus wine estate is roughly 35 kilometers (20 miles) from the fires that have raged since last week on the other side of the Garonne River that runs through Bordeaux.
Bordeaux’s Gironde region is mainland France’s largest by area and the fires have hit only a small percentage of it. But the mark on its reputation is sizeable.
The region in southwest France is replete with vacation spots for tourists lured by soft-sand beaches, winemaking châteaux, some of France’s largest pine forests and the historic city of Bordeaux, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The oyster-rich Arcachon Bay draws foodies. But the fire and evacuations have emptied some prime spots.
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