Two Million Liters of Wine Spilled on the Streets of a Town in Portugal
Two million litres of wine spilled on the streets of a town in Portugal due to the explosion of two reservoirs at the Levira distillery. The incident occurred in the town of São Lourenço do Bairro in the Anadia municipality.
It's reported by Diário de Aveiro.
Local authorities declared an environmental alert due to the massive wine spillage, which flooded main and adjacent roads, fields, vehicles, and even seeped into the basement of a building.
The company expressed its sincere concern for the damages caused to the town and residents' properties and stated that the incident's causes are being investigated by competent authorities. The company committed to covering the expenses related to the cleanup and repairs.
A volunteer fire brigade from Anadia confirmed that the alarm was raised at 10:36 on Sunday. Firefighters diverted the flow and deepened a dam to prevent the wine from contaminating the Sertima River. The collected liquid was transported to purification facilities.
As reported by The Gaze, in the French Bordeaux region, winemakers are planning to clear thousands of hectares of vineyards due to reduced demand and climate change-related challenges. Bordeaux is known as a key wine-producing region in France, and its products have high value. However, due to a noticeable drop in red wine consumption, decreased orders from China, and rising production costs due to climate changes, local producers are starting to reduce the size of their vineyards.
The long-standing trend of declining red wine consumption in France has persisted for decades. While high-quality varieties still have demand, interest in more affordable mass-market red wines has decreased. This has led to price reductions, prompting many producers to reduce the size of their vineyards and receive compensation.
France has launched a special support program for winemakers looking to repurpose their land for other crops and process unsold grapes into different products. Compensation of approximately €6,000 per hectare of uprooted vineyards will be provided.
In the Gironde department, over 1,000 preliminary applications have already been submitted. Approximately one-third of winemakers plan to completely eliminate their vineyards, while others will increase the production of higher-quality wines for sale at premium prices.