The government agency FranceAgriMer said around 3m hectolitres needed distilling as a result of lower sales during the coronavirus crisis.

Winemakers have been hit by the closure of bars and restaurants in France and abroad. Exports to the US, which halved after the Trump administration introduced punitive 25% tariffs last October, fell further after the Covid-19 outbreak.

FranceAgriMer said that from Friday, 33 distilleries had been authorised to collect 2m hectolitres of unsold wine to transform it into ethanol or hydro-alcoholic gel in order to free up room in vintners’ caves for this year’s production.

The exceptional measure has been approved by Brussels, and the EU will finance the distillation, the agency added.

Winemakers have until 19 June to apply for the scheme and state how much wine they wish to transform. They will be paid €78 a hectolitre for appellation wine linked to a specific region and 58 for non-appellation.

The alcohol produced through the distilling process will be used by the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry and for the production of hand sanitising gel.

Didier Josso, the head of FranceAgriMer’s wine branch said: “The distilled wine will not in any case be used for the production of spirits.”

He added: “There will probably be a need to stock ethanol as well, but the quantity will be less significant than for wine.”

Around 500 Burgundy winemakers have donated 3,000 bottles, a third of them grands or premiers crus, to be auctioned in support of the region’s hospital staff. The first auction will take place on 13 June, and the grands crus will be auctioned on 22 June.

Burgundy winemakers say they have less stock than their counterparts in  Bordeaux, but many have had only one full grape harvest in the last four years. Their vines were damaged by hail in 2016, by frost in 2017 and by frost and drought in 2019.

The Champagne region has been particularly hit by the coronavirus crisis, reporting drops in weekly sales of up to 64% during the lockdown compared with last year.

Italy’s winemakers are also ready to turn their produce into hand gel. In May the farming union Confagricoltura asked the government for authorisation and funding. The association aims to collect between 1.5m and 2m hectolitres of unsold wine and turn it into hand sanitiser.

The procedure requires a ministerial decree, which Confagricoltura hopes will be ready by the end of this month. Unless the wine stocked up in cellars is used, the sector faces the challenge of finding space for wine produced after this autumn’s harvest.

In Spain, the sherry firm González-Byass has been manufacturing 5,000 litres of hand gel for hospitals, care homes and Red Cross centres.

法国将30万千升葡萄酒制成手消毒液

法国酿酒商将把未售出的葡萄酒制成手消毒液和乙醇，为新年份酒腾出空间。

法国农业部下属的农作物办公室FranceAgriMer表示，由于冠状病毒危机期间销量下降，大约需要蒸馏30万千升葡萄酒。

国内外酒吧和餐馆的关闭对法国酿酒商造成了沉重打击。去年10月，特朗普政府实施25%的惩罚性关税后，法国葡萄酒对美国的出口减少了一半，疫情的爆发更是雪上加霜。

FranceAgriMer称，从上周五开始，已经授权33个酒庄收集20万千升未售出的葡萄酒，将其转化为手消毒液和乙醇，为即将到来的新年份酒做准备。

该机构补充说，这一特殊措施已获得欧盟的批准，欧盟将为蒸馏提供资金。

酒庄必须在6月19日之前提交申请计划，并说明希望转化多少葡萄酒。法定产区葡萄酒可获得780欧元/千升的补贴，非法定产区葡萄酒为580欧元/千升。

通过蒸馏制成的酒精将被制药业和化妆品业用于手消毒液的生产。

FranceAgriMer葡萄酒分部负责人Didier Josso说：“蒸馏的葡萄酒在任何情况下都不会用于生产烈酒。”

他补充说：“可能也需要储备乙醇，但数量比葡萄酒少得多。”

大约有500家勃艮第酒庄捐赠了3,000瓶葡萄酒，其中1/3为特级园或一级园葡萄酒，用于拍卖以支持该地区的医院工作人员。首次拍卖将于6月13日举行，特级园酒将在6月22日拍卖。

勃艮第葡萄酒生产商说，他们的库存量比波尔多少，在过去的四年中，许多酒庄只有一个完整的葡萄收获期。他们的葡萄树在2016年被冰雹破坏，2017年遭遇霜冻，在2019年又经历了霜冻和干旱。

香槟地区受到新冠病毒的打击尤为严重，据报道，与去年同期相比，封锁期间的单周销量下降了64%。

意大利的酿酒商也正在准备将产品制成手消毒液。5月，意大利农业协会Confagricoltura要求政府授权和资助。该协会的目标是收集15万-20万千升未售出的葡萄酒，并将其转化为手消毒剂。

该程序需要通过农业部出台法令，Confagricoltura希望该法令能在本月底准备就绪。如果不将储存在酒窖中的葡萄酒处理掉，葡萄酒业将面临为今年秋季收获后的葡萄酒寻找生产空间的挑战。

在西班牙，雪利酒生产商González-Byass已为医院、疗养院和红十字会中心生产了5000升手消毒液。

本报记者 徐菲远 译自英国《卫报》