FRENCH WINE SHIPPED BY SAIL TO CUT EMISSIONS

For the first time since the 19th Century, 60,00 bottles of wine will be shipped under sail from Bordeaux to Dublin next month. Each one’s label will bear the words, "Carried by sailing ship, a better deal for the planet."

The wine will remain cost-competitive with other French wines.

Eventually, shipping company Compagnie de Transport Maritime a la Voile (CTMV) will have a fleet of 7 ships.

In port, the ships will promote their service by hosting guests. CTMV founder and shipping magnet about-to-be Frederic Albert: "We will do tastings on board, the ship can hold about 100 guests, to help the importers promote the wines."

The tall ship soon to sail from Bordeaux to Dublin. (click to enlarge)

Languedoc wines to be shipped under sail to save carbon
Sophie Kevany, February 20, 2008 (AFP via Yahoo News)

WHO
Shipping company Compagnie de Transport Maritime a la Voile (CTMV), Frederic Albert, founder; 50 Languedoc wine producing shippers and a waiting list of 200

WHAT
- CTMV will begin transporting the Languedoc wine makers wines by sailing vessel to cut fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions

CTMV's soon-to-be-christened 2nd ship. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- The first cargo shipped under sail since the 1800s will depart in March 2008.
- CTMV’s plan calls for 7 ships to be in service transporting wine by 2013.
- A second boat, just built at a cost of $8.4 million, will be launched in March.

The gold stamp is on the bottles, above the labels. (click to enlarge)

WHERE
- The first shipment will be from Bordeaux to Dublin.
- The wines will be delivered to Bordeaux by barge along the Canals du Midi and du Garonne across southern France, collecting the wines along the way.
- Bordeaux will remain the regular port of departure.
- Next delivery port: Canada
- Future delivery ports: Bristol or Manchester, England; Gothenburg, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; other Scandinavian ports.

"A better deal for the planet" in gold could turn out to be worth gold. (click to enlarge)

WHY
- The ship: a 52-metre (170-ft) 3-masted barque Belem, the last French merchant sailing vessel to be built (1896), it cargoed chocolate to France from Belem, in Brazil.
- Expected to save 4.9 oz of CO2e/bottle.
- First shipment: 60.000 bottles
- Delivery time to Dublin: 4 days.
- Cost for the whole 7-boat project is estimated at 40 to 50 million euros ($59 million to $74 million).
- The ship will return with a full load of crushed glass to be recycled into wine bottles, cutting future bottle cost.

Wind power might play a big part in the future of ocean shipping. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Frederic Albert, CTMV: "My idea at the beginning was to do something for the planet and something for the wines of Languedoc…One of my grandfathers was a winemaker and one was a sailor…We chose the best wine in the area, but it must also be made in a sustainable way, using as many natural products as possible…"
- Frederic Albert, CTMV, on obtaining financing for the project: "There is a lot of interest in green investments in France…"