Portugal experienced a river of win after 600,000 gallons of surplus beverage poured onto the streets following a distillery tank burst.
The wine flood flowed down a narrow, hilly street located in a small town known as Sao Lourenco de Bairro in Portugal. Video footage of the incident showed a torrent of red wine gushing through the city's streets.
Portugal's River of Wine
Fortunately, no injuries were reported amid the unexpected incident but some were concerned that the wine may have flowed into some people's basements. The distiller, Destilaria Levira, and the Portuguese news platform Jornal Diario de Aveiro warned residents of the possibility.
Firefighters who were deployed to the scene of the incident diverted the flow of the wine from a nearby river and into fields. In a statement, Destilaria Levira said that the release occurred after two storage tanks burst and they are currently investigating the cause of the incident.
The distillery issued an apology and said that it would handle the cleanup, repair, and damage caused by the river of wine. The news outlet was the one that reported nearly 600,000 gallons of wine ending up in the streets of the small town, as per NBC News.
The distillery said that its storage of wine was bountiful due to the governmental response to a wine surplus in Europe, which was a result of decreasing demand. The company said that the oversupply can already be considered a crisis in the region.
The European Commission in June acknowledged the oversupply of wine and said that it would support measures to convert excess products to biofuel. In a statement, the commission, the day-to-day executive leadership of the European Union, said that the wine sector in the region was hit by reduced consumption due to the current inflation on food and drinks prices.
This was in association with a good 2022 harvest and the ensuing consequences of the market difficulties amid the coronavirus pandemic that resulted in an accumulation of stock. The distillery, which is located roughly 140 miles north of Lisbon, said that its storage facility was part of the government's efforts to address the issue.
Investigating the Cause of the Incident
Local media outlets in Portugal also reported that the spillage triggered a local environmental alert as the Anadia Fire Department addressed the situation. The soil that is found to have been soaked with wine will be taken to a special treatment plan, the distillery said, according to USA Today.
In a post, the distillery company expressed gratitude to the Anadia Municipal Council, Civil Protection, Volunteer Firefighters of Anadia, and GNR SEPNA, or the environmental police, for their assistance with the incident. The various agencies and groups quickly intervened and were able to minimize the impacts of the river of wine as much as possible.
Destilaria Levira also said that it was aware of the importance of intervention to collect the wine as well as its byproducts. It added that they were working to ensure that wineries and producers they have worked with for several years will not be affected by the spill, said Fox News.
