If there’s any reason to open a bottle of Port, drinking the fortified wine in times of need to help global Coronavirus response would be a good one.
Symington Family Estates, the leading port producer in the world, is calling for Port lovers to share a glass of the fortified wine for Red Cross on May 3.
Members of the Symington family will toast with lovers of Port around the globe via live video conference to help raise funds to support humanitarian relief and medical services for coronavirus pandemic.
You can join this event here, and donate to Red Cross for Coronavirus response here and emergency covid-19 appeal.
Port lovers in other time zones can also join by drinking a glass of Port on the same day, sharing a photo on social media using the hashtag #PortLoversUnite, and making a donation to the Red Cross.
Since the Coronavirus reached Portugal, the Portugese port giant have retooled their wine production to for the production of 10,000 litres of antiseptic gel (made with distilled grape spirit, glycerine and water), which has been distributed to various hospitals in the north of Portugal.
The winery also initiated other measures to help hospitals fight the coronavirus spread in Portugal including donation of a ventilator to the Vila Real hospital in the Douro region, funding towards a diagnostic X-Ray machine for a hospital south of Porto, and the purchase of 3,000 medical-grade protective masks for hospitals in the Porto area.
“For many Port drinkers, opening a bottle is an integral part of family gatherings, especially after lunch on a Sunday – in this case on the weekend of the May Day bank holiday. Sadly, this year many families will not be together. Port has solidarity in its DNA, in that the Douro has more than 21,000 grape growers and 92% of them farm fewer than 5 hectares of vineyard. As a result, people who drink Port are supporting entire communities in the Douro.
“In this time of social distancing and lockdown, we wanted to create an opportunity for the global Port community to share a glass together online, whilst contributing valuable funds to support the many courageous people on the front lines of this global pandemic. The International Red Cross is doing vital work in response to the pandemic providing emergency healthcare support for those living in conflict zones,” says Rob Symington, Associate Director of Symington Family Estates.
