Winemakers count the cost of vineyard fires near French Riviera

Vineyards charred by a wildfire are pictured at the Chateau des Bertrands vineyard in Cannet-des-Maures, southern France (Daniel Cole/AP)

After a wildfire blazed through a once-picturesque nature reserve near the French Riviera, winemakers who grow the region’s celebrated crop are taking stock of the damage.

Rows of charred grapevines stand next to a vast expanse of steaming black vegetation devastated by the fire, which raged for a week in late August.