With the heatwave settling over much of France for several days, some wine estates are bringing forward the working hours of their seasonal staff to avoid the hottest part of the day, especially in physcically intensive and laborious jobs.
This is the case in La Sauve, a commune in the southwest of France, in the Gironde department. Here vines are grown for Chateau Latorse, and the estate’s director has decided to have his seasonal workers start before dawn.
“Instead of working from 8 am to midday and then 2 pm to 6 pm, we now start at 6:30 in the morning and finish by 2:30 pm at the latest,” explains Daniel Latorse.
But this change in working hours must not make us forget safety rules when it comes to extreme heat.
“We ask them always to wear a t-shirt and shorts when it is hot and, above all, a cap for protection, as well as sunscreen, to avoid sunburn and heatstrokes,” added Latorse.
