WFS lifts November spirits with 3,000 tonnes of wine

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) is well into the annual delivery of France’s Beaujolais Nouveau wine ahead of Beaujolais Nouveau Day on Nov. 16. This year, WFS is coordinating delivery of more than 3,000 tonnes of the wine to customers in Asia.

Beaujolais Nouveau Day is traditionally held on the third Thursday of November each year, and typically inspires a race against time. Unlike traditional fine wine, Beaujolais Nouveau, made from Gamay grapes, is fermented for just a few weeks each fall before being released for sale worldwide. Around 28 million bottles of the cherry-red wine are produced each year and more than 7 million are shipped to Japan, alone.

WFS began handling the 2017-vintage Beaujolais during the fourth week of October, with full-freighter flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) and more than 80 truckloads destined for flights leaving Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Zurich, Barcelona, Madrid and Milan. Transportation typically takes more than two weeks, during which time WFS takes special steps to ensure security and quality of the shipments.

Peak demand for the wine continues for weeks after the Nov. 16 holiday, with delivery “managed by a dedicated WFS team in a warehouse facility in Paris that coordinates every single shipment,” said WFS managing director at CDG, Hugo Rodrigues. WFS expects even stronger demand next year.