
© Etienne Ramousse/Zeppelin/Sipa/Rex/Shutterstock
Burgundy vines have been set alight to fight against frost.
Winemakers across France are counting the cost of several nights of frost this week that threaten to decimate grape harvests in some of the country's best-known and prestigious wine-producing regions.
The government is readying an emergency rescue package after rare freezing temperatures that could cause some of the worst damage in decades to crops and vines.
From Bordeaux to Burgundy and the Rhône Valley to Champagne, winemakers were out in their fields on Friday inspecting the destruction.
"It breaks like glass because there's no water inside," said Dominique Guignard, a winemaker in the Graves area near Bordeaux, as he rubbed the first shoots on his vines.
"It's completely dried out, there's no life inside," said Guignard, who heads a group of producers in Graves, which is known for its robust red wine.
Many industry experts say the damage from temperatures of up to -6C may be the worst in decades, partly because the frost followed unseasonably warm weather last week.
Comment: French winemakers light up fields to save the 2021 harvest from early season frosts