CV take on the St-Emilion Fete des Vins for The Passage

As part of our ongoing commitment to our company charity, The Passage, Chelsea Vintners are sending a team over to Bordeaux at the end of March to take part in the St Emilion ‘Fete des Vins’ race. We are entering the relay marathon in 3 teams of 2 people each, once again joining our great friend Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse as part of her Château Beausejour team, and looking to improve on the 2024 efforts made by CV’s own Giles Cooper (entering again to complete some unfinished business!) and James Mead (unfortunately sitting this year out).

Along with Giles, CV’s David Massarella, Damian Tillson, Hamish Greening and Henrietta Gullifer will be joined by friend of CV and Bordeaux resident Chris James with the aim of conquering this mighty 42km route through some of St Emilion and Pomerol’s most picturesque – and very hilly – vineyards and châteaux.

Anyone who has visited our office in London’s Victoria, or indeed passed through this part of London, will see the ongoing challenge with homelessness and the issues that people who have found themselves homeless face - you may be surprised to learn that Westminster has the highest proportion of rough sleeping anywhere in the UK. What you might not have noticed, just a stone's throw from the CV office, is the giant pink building on the corner of Carlisle Place which houses The Passage. The Passage a multi-service charity which assists with all aspects of homelessness in Westminster. They provide healthcare, hot meals, clothing, safe overnight spaces and help with work, finding accommodation, and many other services for their clients - their work is quite literally life changing for many of those who use the Passage services, and we are very proud to be partnering with them for a second year to volunteer, raise funds, and raise awareness for what is an incredibly important community charity that does an incredible amount of good just moments away from the CV desks.

Any and all donations however small are hugely appreciated, and given the CV team and Château Beauséjour are covering all the costs of travel and entry you can be sure that every single penny collected will go towards this very worthy cause.