A month in wine
Corporate giants LVMH, Pernod Ricard and Diageo pledged to produce millions of bottles of hand sanitiser to aid the global fight against Covid-19.
LVMH, comprising luxury brands Moët Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, was one of the first to announce plans to reconfigure its production lines to make hydroalcoholic gels.
The company said it would use three of its perfume and cosmetic factories to deliver 12 tonnes of hand sanitiser free of charge to French authorities. Paris hospitals chief Martin Hirsch thanked LVMH for its quick action: ‘They made us this offer on Saturday night (14 March) and confirmed it on Sunday.’
In a matter of days, LVMH’s move was followed by announcements from its drinksindustry rivals Pernod Ricard and Diageo.
Diageo, one of the world’s largest drinks companies, promised to donate enough alcohol from its distilleries to produce more than eight million 250ml bottles of hand sanitiser. It said these would be distributed to frontline health workers across several countries worldwide, including the UK, US, Italy, India, Australia, Brazil and Kenya.
Pernod Ricard, the owner of Absolut vodka and Jameson Irish whiskey, said its distilleries in France, the US, Ireland and Spain would be made available for sanitiser production. Chairman and CEO Alexandre Ricard said: ‘By sharing our resources and making our production facilities available wherever they are needed, we are supporting our fellow citizens and local authorities.’
In Spain, the wine and spirits group Gonzalez Byass offered up several of its facilities to the Spanish government to make hand sanitiser, while Familia Torres opted to produce 3D-printed face masks for medical staff in Catalonia.
Localised initiatives were seen in
California, where companies such as Gallo and Barton Family Wines started hand sanitiser production for public health agencies.
Smaller-scale gin distillers in the UK, such as Silent Pool and Psychopomp, also helped to manufacture sanitisers for NHS workers.