The Château Clos de l'Amitie of Bordeaux

In 2007, Frenchman Frédéric Albert founded the Compagnie de Transport Maritime à la Voile (CTMV) with the goal of decarbonising the wine industry. The firm managed to sail its 50m-vessel four times from France to Ireland, England and Canada, before going into liquidation as a consequence of the 2008 economic crisis. Despite the failure, Albert’s pioneering project was a sign for things to come. In 2013, Le Havre-based TransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT) followed in CTMV’s footsteps sailing some 3 ...

In addition to the fine wine auctions reported on previously by Decanter, further initiatives have been set up to raise money for those in crisis. UK-based wine importer Les Caves de Pyrene has been helping to relocate families fleeing from war-torn Ukraine and settle them in safe havens across Europe, in accommodation provided by the importer’s European winemakers. To help cover the logistical costs of relocating families, the importer has announced it will hold a fundraising auction and charit ...

Bordeaux winemakers launched a large protest earlier this week to renew calls for state help, notably a subsidised scheme to pull up vines, as part of a social plan to help growers. Those marching through the city’s streets sought to highlight a cocktail of financial pressures facing winemakers. While Bordeaux is best-known as the home of major châteaux, there are thousands of winemakers across the region. Bordeaux’s wine bureau, the CIVB, has warned some growers are in ‘great econom ...