“These big fans, equipped with two sails perched on a mast 12 metres up, automatically start when the temperature falls to 1.6C,” said Bruno Delannoy, president of the Vinet-Delpech distillery, whose vineyards produce grapes for cognac.

“They are able to capture less cold air, located higher up, and bring it to ground level to avoid the temperature dropping too much,” he told Le Figaro.

While the system is effective in protecting budding vines, it has infuriated residents.

“I’m against this type of equipment,” said Michel Vion, the local mayor.

“We’ve got 20-odd towers in the town. When they’re up and running, they emit 80 to 100 decibels of noise right into the town. When there is a lot of frost, as there was in April 2021, they operate 10 days in a row for 12 hours flat, from 9pm to 9am. People can’t sleep.”

Mr Vion tried to organise a meeting with the neighbouring town, Allas-Champagne, between residents and winemakers, but added: “We had before us an aggressive group of vintners, bent on defending their vineyards at all costs.”

Residents have filed a complaint with the local state prefect.

However, Bernard Maindron, the mayor of Allas-Champagne, said there was no legal framework to regulate the use of the noisy turbines or impose a “minimum distance from housing”.

Defenders of the towers point out that cognac production employs 60,000 people in the local area and generates €3.6bn in sales, so residents should simply put up with the sounds of the countryside.

“Even if these towers emit noise that surpasses authorised norms, exceptional climatic conditions call for exceptional preventative measures,” said Timothée Dufour, the winegrowers’ lawyer.