(Decanter) - The Bordeaux government is launching a new initiative to match young winemakers looking to buy their first estate with properties owned by older winemakers approaching retirement. The plans come from the French national land agency, SAFER, together with the Ministry of Agriculture in the Gironde: the idea is to help the estimated 1,000 vineyard owners who are over 55 and do not have a succession plan in place. Many are forced into working longer, or are obliged to sell their estates to neighbours who then integrate the vines into their own chateaux, thus losing historic names.