Record heat and historic drought are forcing France's most protected cheeses to break their own rules.
Caroline and Emily unpack how the AOP charters for Comté, Beaufort, and Abondance have been temporarily loosened after historic drought hit the Alps and Jura. They explain what changes when cows eat grain and hay instead of mountain grass, why terroir shapes the flavor, and what happened to producers like Salers, who could not adapt in time.
Podcast Show Notes
In this episode:
• France's record-breaking heat waves and wildfires in summer 2026
• The INAO's historic dryness declaration for the Alps and Jura
• Temporary charter changes for Abondance, Beaufort, and Comté cheese
• How terroir shapes the flavor of mountain cheese
• The three jobs behind every wheel of Comté, farmer, cheesemaker, and ager
• Why Abondance is so tightly tied to its valley and cattle breed
• Beaufort's three tiers and the disappearing Bleu de Termignon
• Why Salers producers switched to cheaper Cantal cheese this year
• The UNESCO-protected transhumance tradition and its uncertain future
• A parallel case in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and possible reform of French irrigation rules
Key Takeaways
• July 2026 was the hottest month on record in France, with more than 90,000 hectares of forest and vegetation burned since spring.
• The INAO declared historic dryness in the Alps and Jura on August 10, 2026.
• Abondance, Beaufort, and Comté are AOP cheeses whose charters normally require a set percentage of local grazing.
• Abondance's summer grazing requirement temporarily dropped from 50 percent to 15 percent of local grassland, and outside hay is now allowed.
• Beaufort's local feed requirement dropped from about 70 percent to 50 percent, with grain now permitted as a supplement.
• Comté's rules changed the least of the three, allowing green corn feed from outside the AOP zone through the end of October.
• Salers cheese producers in the Auvergne could not modify their charter in time and switched to making cheaper Cantal instead.
• Transhumance, the tradition of moving herds up to summer pastures, was named UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2023.
