Bordeaux Raises "Symbolic" $57,000 For Hail-Hit Growers
Date£º
2014-05-08 10:26 Source£º
winesearcher Author:
Rebecca Gibb Translator:
Bordeaux's top chateaux raid their cellars to raise money for producers hit by August storms.
Wines donated by some of Bordeaux's most prestigious estates helped to raise more than $57,000 for fellow wine growers devastated by a freak hailstorm in the region in August 2013.
Organized by wine consultant Sthane Derenoncourt, top Bordeaux estates including Chateau Haut-Brion, Ausone, Cheval Blanc and Domaine de Chevalier donated wines, which were auctioned off on April 29 at the landmark Paris hotel, Le Bristol.
It was hoped the sale would raise as much as 100,000 euros ($139,270) but the 84 lots on offer failed to meet that target, raising 41,470 euros ($57,755).
The sum seems relatively meager in light of other auction results: a single case of 1982 Petrus raised $75,000 alone at a Sotheby's sale a day later.
In a post-sale statement, the organizers said: "Pessimists will say that 41,470 euros ($57,755) is not much but optimists like us say that this amount, even if it's symbolic, will come to give hope to wine growers in great difficulty."
The money will be given to the Association Viticole Intercommunale du Castillonais to distribute among those growers hard hit by the hailstorm.
The storm covered an area 30 kilometers long and 10km wide, causing varying levels of damage across 15-20,000 hectares (37-49,400 acres). Some 7000ha (17,290 acres) of vineyard were completely destroyed.
In March, growers demonstrated in the town of Libourne, claiming there had been a lack of financial support from the government.
Dominique Techer, secretary of grower group SOS Vignerons said: "In total, the financial aid amounted to five million euros (US$6.7m) but losses are estimated to be between 150 and 200 million euros (US$208m-$278m)."
He added that there was now a "systemic crisis" in the region.