Fine Wines and Underage Labor: Bordeaux’s Harvest of Shame
Seven people busted for human trafficking in Bordeaux, including the exploitation of a minor. All under the banner of harvesting grapes for your next glass of fine wine.
From Romania to Bordeaux, workers, including a kid barely in his teens, were smuggled into France to toil in vineyards. The Libourne public prosecutor’s office slapped seven culprits with charges ranging from human trafficking to criminal concealment and making life hell for vulnerable workers.
The round-up happened on October 10 across three communes, including the vaunted Saint-Émilion. Sound familiar? Yeah, they make some of France’s top-shelf wines there.
Rewind to 2020. Six individuals and three corporations stood trial for a similar racket in the Champagne region. They were subcontracted by France’s champagne moguls to rustle up laborers. The workforce? Nearly 200 souls crammed ten deep in dilapidated hotels, showering in cold water—if they showered.
One Afghan worker reported 17-hour workdays with no legal contract. Oh, and they had to cough up 25 euros daily for their pathetic lodgings and meals.
After four pickers died from heat-related complications in Champagne, people are finally questioning this archaic system. Imagine picking grapes in 38°C heat. Maxime Toubart, head honcho of the SGV, Champagne’s primary grower’s union, says, “This is uncharted territory.”
Change is on the horizon, but it’s a two-faced coin. While new laws aim to improve living conditions, some growers find them too burdensome for a two-week harvest. The result? Workers are still bunking multiple to a room, but now in hotels.
So, is it time to ditch pay-by-the-kilo? The debate rages on, but the heat—literal and figurative—is on.
