Two French wine-makers suffocated by carbon dioxide fumes from grapes
they were treading
Two amateur French wine makers have died after they were
suffocated by the fumes from the grapes they were treading with their
bare feet.
The victims had volunteered to help a friend make wine at his vineyard
in the northern Ardeche region and had climbed into the six-foot wide
vat to begin the traditional process of extracting the juice from the
grapes.
But police believe Daniel Moulin, 48, and 50-year-old Gerard Dachis were
overcome by carbon dioxide fumes that are given off during fermentation
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1083623/Two-French-wi\
ne-makers-suffocated-carbon-dioxide-fumes-grapes-treading.html> and
collapsed.
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Rescuers tried frantically to revive the pair but in spite of
resuscitation efforts the two men did not regain conciousness.
The owner of the small estate - who makes wine every year for himself
and friends - and another pal who were also helping in the process were
later treated in hospital for inhalation of carbonic gas in the
poorly-ventilated farm building.
Carbon dioxide is formed during the alcoholic fermentation of the
grapes. Because it is 1.5 times heavier than air it sinks to floor level
- the bottom of wine vats or in wine cellars.
The gas is odourless and colourless, meaning that ventilation and carbon
dioxide testing during the wine-making process can become life-saving.
A concentration of just eight per cent is enough to kill a human being.
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