It all started with a chance encounter. In midsummer 2005, radio journalist Frederic Albert from Beziers boarded the Belem, a famous three-masted French tall ship, to report on a sailing race from Waterford to Cherbourg. The Belem sailed under the command of a Basque mariner, Michel Pery. These two southern Frenchmen shared a passion for merchant sailing ships and their bygone era. They dreamt of a day when merchant sailing ships would once again roam the seas with holds full of cargo, promoting commerce between nations through an environmentally friendly form of transportation. Dreamers perhaps, but determined dreamers nonetheless.

Did we mention, that like any self-respecting Frenchmen, Frederic and Albert also shared a passion for wine? Indeed, Fred himself had worked within the wine industry, and so the idea for Fair Wind Wine was born.

Frederic and Michel strongly believed that merchant sailing ships could once again have a future in this highly industrialised world, by transporting fine French wines across the seas in an eco-friendly way. In this age of increasingly volatile climate-change, where sustainability is more crucial than ever before, their vision was to transport wine abroad by using the power of the wind. Transporting the wine by sail would lead to a huge reduction in the carbon emissions generated in the transportation of those wines. The two men renewed acquaintance some time after Frederic's sojourn on the Belem, and Philippe Videau, a renowned ship-owner, was next to be convinced. These three founding fathers then set about developing their concept.

In spring 2007, Frederic Albert met Jean-Jacques Vidal, General Secretary of the Young Wine Producers' Association in the south of France, and soon Jean-Jacques was firmly on board. Together, they spoke with many independent wine-makers in the Languedoc Roussillon region. Many of these wine-makers reacted very positively, and with the initial founders, they went on to establish and became partners in the Association Voile et Vin the AVV Sailing and Wine Association.

The Belem Foundation was happy to sponsor the project, whereby this majestic 100 year-old merchant ship became the ambassador for the concept. A lunch on board in Bordeaux helped promote the idea further, and a wine-tasting on board in Dublin in the summer of 2007 helped the AVV spread its message to Ireland and allowed local importers to grasp the concept too.

The “Tourmente” (Tempest), a barge belonging to Jean- Marc Samuel of Fretsud, also got involved in the project in the summer 2007 as the pieces of the jigsaw began to come together. This barge would provide transportation from the vineyards inland to the southern French sea ports via the famous Canal du Midi.

The AVV formed a company, namely CTMV Ltd, which stands for Compagnie de Transport Maritime a la Voile (sea-transport by sail), and it adopted the trading name of Fair Wind Wine.

An ambitious plan was hatched to build modern wind-powered sailing-ships capable of transporting cargoes of wine. In the meantime, the AVV wished to celebrate the marine heritage of the past, by using beautiful old tall ships to carry their wine across the high seas. And so the first such shipment took place in July 2008, when Fair Wind Wine brought Languedoc wines to Dublin on board the 108 year-old triple-masted English schooner, the Kathleen and May. The Fair Wind Wine brand had set sail, with an inaugural shipment of 22 pallets.

The summer of 2008 turned out to be a rather busy time for the new Fair Wind Wine team. A marketing voyage to Quebec in Canada aboard the Belem was followed by promotional luncheon and wine-tasting on board the Lady Daphne, a wind-powered barge, upon the Thames in London.

In 2009, Fair Wind Wine aims to increase its shipments to Ireland, and by the end of the year, the primary aim is that CTMV will be able to to place an order to build a magnificent new 50-metre ship specifically designed for transporting goods by sail. Meanwhile, the first shipment to Ireland in 2009 arrived on the Etoile de France in the month of March, with a further shipment arriving in May on the aptly-named Kathleen and May for the Dublin Docklands Maritime Festival. Further shipments are projected for Dublin, and also Bristol in England, whilst the company also plans to ship goods back to Brittany in France.

Fair Wind Wine is aiming to ship 200,000 bottles of wine to Ireland and the United Kingdom in 2009. It acts as a transportation company, but also as an agent for the wine-makers it represents, and as a distributor too in the countries that it ships to.

The principal founder and Chairman of CTMV, Frederic graduated from university with a Degree in Communications and Business in 1992. He worked in the tourism sector, the insurance industry and the food industry up until 1999. He then moved to Ireland for three years, and worked within the renowned off-licence group, O'Briens. A taste for the media led him to join Radio France in 2003, until he established CTMV and Fair Wind Wine, in which he now works full-time.

A vastly experienced sea-man, Michel started sailing more than 30 years ago on the Basque tuna boats in south-west France. Born in the French Basque country, he joined the merchant navy at the age of seventeen, and went on to command ships out of the Breton port of Nantes on the west coast. This led to him being awarded command of the famous three-masted Belem tall ship in 1992. A co-founder of CTMV and Fair Wind Wine, Michel has worked extensively on designing CTMV's planned fleet of new sailing-ships.

A ship-owner and ship-builder, Philippe was the founder of the Ile du Ponant company. He created this company in 1988 with Jean Emmanuel Sauve and a dozen other officers of the merchant navy, in order to build large sailing-ships. This led to the construction of the three-masted thirty-two cabin Ponant, completed in 1991.

The Levant followed in 1996 at the Alstom-Leroux shipyard in Saint-Malo, and was in fact inaugurated by Madame Bernadette Chirac at an event in 1998. The impressive Levant measures 100 meters long, with 45 cabins. In 2004, the Ile du Ponant company acquired the Diamond, an enormous double-hulled ship 124 metres long.Philippe is a co-founder of CTMV and Fair Wind Wine and adds substantial business acumen to the team, as well as having vast experience in the shipping industry.

Philippe is a co-founder of CTMV and Fair Wind Wine and adds substantial business acumen to the team, as well as having vast experience in the shipping industry.

Fair Wind Wine is committed to the use of renewable energy in the transportation of goods, both in its current use of existing sea-faring vessels, and with its intended European fleet of newly built sailing-ships. Fair Wind Wine is the market-leader in clean environmentally-friendly marine transportation. Fair Wind Wine is the first company to ship wines to Ireland and the United Kingdom by this sustainable form of transport.

Fair Wind Wine is committed to:

• Prioritising the environment during the course of its trade;
• During sea voyages, travelling by wind-powered sail at least 75% of the time;
• Developing as a role model in the field of sustainable transport;
• Developing and using best practices to miminimise carbon emissions at times when sail-power is not or cannot be used (e.g. entering and leaving port)
• Building its fleet of sailing-ships with materials and processes that are respectful of the environment, without compromising health and safety standards.
• Fighting against climate-change;
• Following an economic model that adheres to its environmetally-friendly ethos;
• Acting as an advocate of environmentally-friendly and sustainable business; and Educating people as to the core valuse and ethos of the company.