Incredible moment as a river of RED WINE flows through a Portuguese village as the distillery’s 2.2 million liter tanks burst
- São Lourenco do Bairro in Portugal was painted red with 2.2 million liters of wine
- The wine would have almost filled an Olympic swimming pool
- Levira Distillery has since apologized for the spill from two of its trucks
Winemakers have painted the small Portuguese town of São Lourenco do Bairro red after two of their trucks accidentally spilled 2.2 million liters of red wine on a quiet street.
A fast-flowing river of red wine flowed down a steep hill in the small town, near the coast of Portugal, after two tanks at the Levira distillery suddenly collapsed on Sunday.
Stunned locals watched as wine, almost enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool, flowed through the city streets.
The spill was so extensive that local officials activated an environmental alert and were forced to divert the wine to prevent it from contaminating the nearby Certima River.
Anadia firefighters blocked the flood and diverted it away from the river, where it flowed harmlessly into a field, local media reported.
The wine, which would almost fill an Olympic swimming pool, flowed through the streets of São Lourenco do Bairro in Portugal
So much wine was spilled that local officials activated an environmental alert
Fire officials said a cellar in a home near the distillery was flooded with wine.
Levira has since apologized and said it later dredged the wine-soaked land.
‘We take full responsibility for the costs associated with cleaning and repairing the damage and have teams available immediately for this purpose.
“We are doing everything we can to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.”
While the river of wine could have caused an environmental disaster, experts have said drinking a wide variety of red wine is good for your gut.
Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said drinking a wide variety of wines can have the same benefit as having a varied diet:
‘My advice for wine lovers is to continue to love wine and continue to drink wine, mainly for pleasure, but in the back of your mind think: could I try other bottles or varieties that might be healthier for me and that I might enjoy? enjoy?
‘Diversity is also important – if you take the analogy with food, having a range of different grape varieties in your diet means you are going to help different gut microbes within you and you will increase your gut health and diversity.
‘So don’t stick to the same wine. Get out of there. Try the hundreds or thousands of different grape varieties that we generally don’t enjoy.
‘Let’s put those rare species back on the map, because any of these could help you feed really healthy gut microbes into you and improve your health.’
A 2019 study led by Professor Spector’s team, involving participants from Britain, the US and Belgium, found that people who drank red wine had a wider range of gut bacteria, which is linked to better gut health.
This was not seen in white wine, which may be due to red wine having grape skins left behind during most of the fermentation process, as well as high levels of polyphenols – plant compounds that are good for the gut and can reduce inflammation in the body . associated with poor health in the elderly.