Regional Series: Labour Standards and Regional Resilience in Bordeaux
This month, in collaboration with Vins de Bordeaux – CIVB, SWR hosted a webinar on labour standards in the Bordeaux region, and shared the first findings on labour standards from the Sustainable Vineyard Practice Survey. The session explored the role of labour standards in building resilience across the Bordeaux wine sector, the challenges businesses face in putting them into practice, and what other regions can learn from Bordeaux’s collective approach.
SWR Research Director Dr Peter Stanbury was joined by Axelle Araud (Les Vignobles), Axel Kollberg (Systembolaget), Jane Masters MW (Majestic Wine), and Allan Sichel (Vins de Bordeaux – CIVB) to share perspectives from across the supply chain on sourcing, labour rights, and regional initiatives.
Key Takeaways
A few takeaways from the discussion:
- Labour rights are a core sustainability issue in wine. They affect worker wellbeing, supply-chain resilience, business reputation, and the long-term viability of wine regions, and buyers are facing growing expectations to demonstrate responsible sourcing.
- Labour shortages and seasonal work increase exposure to risk. Recruitment pressures, rising costs, reliance on migrant labour, and extensive agency use make strong due diligence essential, particularly in a region like Bordeaux with an estimated 38,000 seasonal workers and around 600 labour agencies.
- Verification must go beyond policies and audits. Businesses need ongoing oversight, direct engagement with workers, grievance follow-up, and practical checks of contractors’ practices to identify risks that audits alone may miss.
- Collective action is more effective than individual action. CIVB’s collaboration with public authorities, employers, labour agencies, and worker-support organisations provides shared tools, guidance, visibility, and accountability across the region.
- Good practice is relationship-based and operational. Long-term agency partnerships, documented worker checks, planning for accommodation and transport, and adapting working conditions to heat and climate impacts turn commitments into action on the ground.
We are incredibly grateful to the CIVB team for all the work they put into making this event happen.
Want to get involved?
- Fill out the Sustainable Vineyard Practice Survey.
- Read about the Sustainable Vineyard here.
Featured members
Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux
Industry Association
Majestic Wine Group
Retailer
