Liquid the color of red wine filled streets in São Lorenco de Bairro, Portugal, about 140 miles north of Lisbon, after tanks at a distillery burst.
A distillery apologized to neighbors after a river of surplus wine rushed down a narrow, hilly street in a small town in Portugal.
The distillery said its bountiful storage was the result of governmental response to a wine surplus in Europe, caused by decreasing demand. Destilaria Levira described the oversupply as a crisis. "The wine sector is being hit by reduced consumption due to the current inflation on food and drinks prices, which in association with a good 2022 harvest and ensuing consequences of the market difficulties during the pandemic have led to an accumulation of stocks," the commission said in a statement.
Wine consumption in Portugal was expected to be down 34% compared to 2022, the commission said. Decreased wine consumption was also projected for Germany , France , Spain , and Italy .