Retailer takes wine by canal

Published: 23 July, 2008

This week Tesco has announced a move which will see more than 41 million bottles of wine transported by canal boat in the next year.

The retailer claims shipping wine by barge from Liverpool to Manchester will take 50 lorries off the road every week and cut carbon emissions for this journey by 80%.

The 40 mile journey will deliver an estimated 600,000 litres of wine on each journey, three times a week.

Tesco distribution director Laurie McIlwee said: "This is our first waterborne project within the UK. We are already looking at other areas where we can move freight on waterways.

He added: "by 2012 we aim to halve the amount of carbon emitted per case of goods delivered."

Containers of wine from the New World have, until now, been shipped to southern ports before being driven to a Manchester bottling plant. The wines will now be shipped to Liverpool and transported to the bottling plant by barge.

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