French wine makers aim for shipping sustainability

The owners of French vineyards have revealed plans to reduce the carbon footprint of the transportation of their produce, with the use of sailing ships.

Despite the extra time added to the transit process, 60,000 bottles of red wine are set to be shipped from Languedoc in France, to Ireland later this month, the Guardian reported.

With those responsible for the initiative claiming that transit by sailing ship will save more than 18,000 pounds of carbon compared to the usual air transport used, it is hoped that voyages will also be completed to Bristol, Manchester and Canada.

Commenting on the efforts to introduce a green supply chain, Frederic Albert, founder of the shipping company Compagnie de Transport Maritime a la Voile, told the newspaper that the idea was inspired by his family history.

"My idea was to do something for the planet and something for the wines of Languedoc," he said. "One of my grandfathers was a wine-maker and one was a sailor."

"There is a lot of interest in green investments in France," he added.

Last year, supermarket giant Tesco announced plans to transport wine from the port at Liverpool along the Manchester Ship Canal to its bottling depot in Manchester, claiming it would lead to an 80 per cent cut in supply chain emissions. ADNFCR-1231-ID-18483822-ADNFCR