How To Please The French?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.21.08
We may soon forget about Three Ways To Piss Off The French, as this French export-by-sail venture makes it easy to race past the hybrid-vehicle ruminations, to some low-carbon French wines shipped on a 111-year old sailing vessel.
Imagine 60,000 bottles of Languedoc-area wines, from hundreds of small producers, shipped to Ireland on a restored three-masted schooner, chartered exclusively for French wine distribution. She is the Belem, built in 1896 and restored several times (as pictured). You can learn her entire history here.
The wines will be delivered to Bordeaux by barge using the Canal du Midi and Canal du Garonne that run across southern France from Sete in the east, via Beziers in the Languedoc, where the wines will be collected.The first shipment planned for Dublin currently amounts to about 60,000 bottles, and each bottle carries a label with a stylized ship logo and the slogan, "Carried by sailing ship, a better deal for the planet"
I propose a toast in honor of those clever French vintners and shippers. What do you say we buy some offsets for a flight to Dublin and get three sheets to the wind?
Whasatt-cha say 'bout recycling?
The ship will bring back to France an equivalent tonnage of crushed glass for recycling into wine bottles at two factories, one in Bordeaux and one in Beziers.
Apparently Canada is the next port of call for a Belem full of the good stuff. Perhaps Lloyd can do some sampling for us?
Via::Energy Daily, "Languedoc wines to be shipped under sail to save carbon" Image credit::History of the Belem.
I am so happy. Sail freight is back.
What an incredibly good idea - costs nothing and a good time for the crew. Anyone need a deck hand to sail some Oregon pinot noir around the Horn to New York?
Finally good to be a pirate again.
I hope the wines are organic.
I think we should tax the heck out of gas guzzling travel. It would be away nicer atmosphere on a sailing ship than a plane to work on your lap top. I'm all for it matey.
Alex, there's a canal in Panama now.
Maybe Alex would judt like to take an extended vacation!
I think this is a great idea!!