According to The Drinks Business, The scheme, intended for excess wine that remains unsold, will be used to produce products including hydroalcoholic gel.

In a meeting on 11 May, French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire; Minister of Agriculture and Food, Didier Guillaume; and Olivier Dussopt, State Secretary to Gérald Darmanin, Minister of Action and Public Accounts, announced what they referred to as “the first series of specific support measures” for the wine industry during the Covid-19 crisis.

France’s largest farming union, the Fédération Nationale des Syndicats d’Exploitants Agricoles (FNSEA), had previously called for a larger €500m support package for the French wine industry, including a €260m crisis distillation scheme which would be used to distill around 3 million hectolitres of excess wine.

Secretary general of the farming union, Jérôme Despey, called the government announcement a “first gesture”, but stressed the industry’s demands must be met.

Read more at source: The Drinks Business