Vendanges Solidaires Barrière: how a committed project has evolved over time

After storm Klaus in 2009, Hôtel Barrière Le Fouquet’s Paris joined forces with Marie-Laure Lurton, a winemaker in the Haut-Médoc region, to work on an original and extremely generous project: Vendanges Solidaires. Fouquet’s personnel headed off to the wine estate to help the vineyard team with the grape harvest. The bottles produced by this joint enterprise were then auctioned off in aid of re-foresting the Landes d’Armagnac coastline. 

The initiative has been very successful, and Vendanges Solidaires is maturing over the years, just like a good wine. Once the re-foresting was done, the funds raised went towards financing local projects related to youth, education and the inclusion of those faced with a disability. This has all helped to provide new impetus in the area, making Fouquet’s staff really proud of their achievements.

Vendanges Solidaires took on a whole new dimension in 2017, turning into a national initiative. Groupe Barrière joined forces with Dourthe, producers of red wine in the Bordeaux region, and Château Saint-Maur Cru Classé from Roger Zannier’s winery, a rosé producer in the South East of France. White wine was added to the list when the Gustave Lorentz wine estate in Alsace joined the initiative in 2018. All Barrière staff can take part in this unique solidarity initiative, which is also supported by Groupe Pomona via its TerreAzur and PassionFroid divisions.

The aim of this national wine harvest project is to bring teams together around a common cause very dear to the Group: disability. The wines harvested are sold in aid of a partner association called “Comme les Autres”, which helps people to rebuild their lives after becoming disabled as a result of an accident. Founded by Carolyn Jérémiasz-Aldridge, Michaël Jérémiasz and Jonathan Jérémiasz in 2011, “Comme les Autres” focuses on strong social support based on participation in exciting activities to help people re-engage with their social and professional lives. Association members help Barrière staff with the grape harvest, with the association holding disability awareness workshops for participants on each occasion.

Vendanges Solidaires is a way of maintaining Barrière’s strong solidarity-focused mindset. It is an opportunity to bring committed staff, suppliers partnering the project and “Comme les Autres” association members together as a team.

This wonderful story about solidarity and sharing is a sign of Barrière’s continuing social and environmental commitment, and it doesn’t stop there. The future of solidarity is looking good down in the vineyards…