Soazig Darnay is a landscape architect trained in Paris. She is currently the president of the Penedès Wine Landscape Study Centre and coordinates the Fire Wine project, part of a European program aimed at preventing mega-fires and promoting fire-resistant and resilient landscapes.

This week, a seminar was held to present the Fire Wine – Vins de Foc project at the auditorium of VINSEUM, the Museum of the Cultures of Wine of Catalonia (read the article about the project).
The opening session featured Marc Castellnou, inspector of the GRAF wildfire unit of the Catalan Fire Service, who joined via videoconference from the University of California, Davis, and sommelier Josep Roca from El Celler de Can Roca. They spoke about the role of vineyards and wine as a barrier against wildfires.
We share with you the transcript of the session, which was moderated by journalist Cati Morell.

The climate emergency, high wildfire risk, and land abandonment are accelerating the need to reflect on how to preserve rural areas and ensure landscape conservation. The vineyard has proven to be a resilient crop that functions as a productive firebreak, and its preventive effects are amplified when combined with integrated forest, agricultural, and livestock management. A healthy forest nearby further enhances these benefits.

Vilafranca del Penedès (ACN). – Wineries from Catalonia, Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy have joined the “Fire Wine – Vins de Foc” project, an initiative framed within the European FIRE-RES program focused on technological innovation to promote resilient landscapes and prevent wildfires. The program was presented this Tuesday at a seminar held in Vilafranca del Penedès and is led by the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia. Its goal is to equip forested lands in wine-producing regions with tools to help create fire-adapted landscapes. The opening session featured firefighter Marc Castellnou, inspector of the GRAF wildfire units, and Josep Roca, sommelier at El Celler de Can Roca, who both highlighted the role of vineyards and wine as natural firebreaks.

Wineries from Catalonia, Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy have joined Fire Wine, a project developed within the framework of the European FIRE-RES programme on technological innovation for wildfire prevention and the promotion of fire-resilient landscapes. The project was formally introduced on Tuesday during a seminar held in Vilafranca del Penedès. It is led by the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia and aims to provide forest estates in winegrowing areas with tools to design and manage landscapes that are better prepared to withstand and contain wildfires. The opening session featured Marc Castellnou, chief inspector of the GRAF wildfire unit of the Catalan Fire Service, and Josep Roca, head sommelier at El Celler de Can Roca, who highlighted the role of vineyards and wine as buffers against fire.

Wineries from Catalonia, Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy have joined the 'Fire Wine'-Wines of Fire project, an initiative that is part of the European FIRE-RES project for technological innovation aimed at promoting resilient landscapes and fire prevention.