Leading figures in the French wine trade, including Domaine de la Romanee-Conti co-director Aubert de Villaine and Jean-Pierre Perrin of Chateau de Beaucastel, have joined forced to launch a charity wine sale.
Named 12 de Coeur, the initiative is believed to be a first for France’s wine industry and is intended to aid French homeless charity Restos du Coeur.
It has been put together by some of the biggest names in French wine, including Aubert de Villaine of DRC, Jean-Claude Rouzaud of Louis Roederer, Jean-Pierre Perrin of Beaucastel, Jean-François Moueix of Petrus, Pierre-Henry Gagey of Louis Jadot and Michel Boss of the Ecole du Vins et des Teroirs in Puligny-Montrachet.
The group plans to ask French wineries, from châteaux to cooperative cellars and négociants, to donate 12 bottles each of their best wine, which will then be sent to a charity wine sale on Saturday 24 October this year.
It is also hoped that wineries will open to the public on the same day and donate 12% of any profits to the charity.
‘The idea is to launch a simple initiative that brings together all the players, regardless of size or renown,’ Louis Jadot’s Pierre-Henry Gagey, the group’s president, told Decanter.com.
‘There are 80,000 winemakers in France, and I hope we can get wines from €5 to €500 that will represent the diversity of French winemaking.
‘As winemakers, we understand the importance of solidarity. When we are at the mercy of the weather, it is often our neighbours who step in to help.’
The October sale is to be held in Bercy, Paris, the traditional wine merchants district of the French capital.
