VINEXPO EVENTS & SEMINARS – Bordeaux expects

Once again, in June, the Parc des Expositions will become the focal point for the international drinks trade. The 13th Vinexpo promises the usual heady mix of alcohol and business at the highest level

You might have only just scraped the tannin from your teeth and fought through the backlog of work that piled up in your absence during LIWSF, but as soon as you’ve finishing packing up one stand, there’s another to be built. A Vinexpo year means a busy start to the summer for the wine trade.

When Vinexpo began in 1981, 11,000 show-goers visited 524 stands. By the last Vinexpo in 2003, visitor numbers had spiralled to over 47,000 with over 2,300 companies exhibiting.

The 13th Vinexpo will be more impressive than ever before, and easier to get to via the new free shuttle-bus service to and from the show. The really good news is that Hall 3 is actually a new 12,000 square metre exhibition hall this year (not a tent), and a shiny new air-conditioned one at that, costing h25m to develop. The vast expanse of Hall 1 has also been reorganised to make a more manageable tasting space. In addition to this Vinexpo will also be using the nearby Palais de Congres (Convention Centre) where a smaller exhibition entitled Univers and Co will be dedicated to the services around wine and spirits, such as design agencies and glassware.

“We’ve been fully booked for months,” says Jean-Marie Chadronnier, the president of Vinexpo. “People don’t come because they are interested in the French market – that’s what makes us different from ProWein in Germany, VinItaly or the London Wine Fair. These exhibitions are mainly dedicated to their own marketplace.

“Exhibitors visit ProWein mainly because they are interested in the German market. People come to Vinexpo because it is probably the only place in the world where most of the operators from the wine business will be in one place, where they can meet people from the wine trade from all over the world in a neutral manner.”

As international as the fair now is, the location is still an attraction for some expo-goers. “Bordeaux is still considered one of the main reference points for wine. It is a gathering where everyone has their own goal,” Chadronnier continues. “Some may come to meet people, or do some serious business, or maybe just to look around. Everyone has good reasons for coming and I think that the proof is that they stay for more than one day.”

In fact there is so much to see that staying more than a day is pretty much vital. Domaines Barons de Rothschild-Lafite will be presenting wines from its newest property, Château d’Aussières for the first time. Sample the wines from the 550ha Languedoc estate on stand AB28, Hall 1.

Meanwhile, Bordeaux-based Maison Sichel will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of its flagship premium brand, Sirius, at stand B252, Hall 1.

There will be a new Chilean wine from Jacques and François Lurton on stand CD50, Hall1, as they will be showcasing their new Clos de Lolol 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenère blend, the first vintage from their new Lolol winery in the Colchagua valley. 

On stand BD300, Hall 1, La Baume and JP Chenet will be the focus for Les Grands Chais de France. La Baume’s new “wraparound” packaging, researched and designed in the UK, is being adopted for all markets in Scandinavia, the US and Europe. JP Chenet has also received a labelling overhaul and an embossed logo now replaces the neck label on the characteristic twisted-neck bottle.

The French giant Castel will be on stand BD 271, Hall 1, to present Halana and Boualouane wines from Morocco, as well as its French brands.

The Valdepeñas-based Felix Solis SA, producer of Spain's market-leading Viña Albali and Los Molinos, will this year be on Stand D90, Hall 1, to introduce new wines from Rioja, Rueda and Ribera del Duero, and also a new dual-varietal range, Vinum Clasic. Rioja expert Frederico Paternina will be exhibiting on AB60, Hall 1.

Italian producer Settesoli will be at stand B233 in Hall 1 to show off its repackaged Mandrarossa and Inycon brands, and launch a Vineyard Selection varietal range. Fellow Italian producer Monarco will also be in Hall 1 at E2670.

And it’s not just wine, Burn Stewart Distillers’ Bunnahabhain will be on the CL World Brands stand at S350, Hall 3, to present its new packaging. Now distributed in over 20 countries around the world, Bunnahabhain is growing in a number of markets, notably in the UK, Sweden, Northern Europe and the US.

But Vinexpo is much more than a tasting opportunity. Each year the organisers, in collaboration with the International Wines and Spirits Record, commission in-depth studies of the world wine market.

“Most would consider putting on an exhibition the size of Vinexpo to be enough work in itself, but as its chief executive, Robert Beynat, explains, “We are not an exhibition organiser, the exhibitions are only a tool for us. We want to help the trade to develop the consumption of wine and spirits – responsibly.

“By investing in studies we are helping exhibitors. They act as a tool to help exhibitors to develop the future, their strategies and their brands.”

One rather curious fact that the research uncovered is that the global wine market is now of the same value as the cosmetics industry, and has grown 7.8% since 1998 to a value of $101.5 billion. In the outlook to 2006 this figure is expected to rise by another 8% to $111bn. World wine consumption in 2002 reached 224.8m hectolitres. We hope you drank your share.

The most encouraging news that this research had for wine producers everywhere is that the looming spectre of the global wine surplus is fading after all. IWSR believes that the glut of wine produced between 1997 and 2001 is the result of two of the largest vintages on record, namely 1999 and 2000. The statistical probabillity of having two consecutive bumper harvests again is low, so based on five-year figures the gap between world production and consumption should fall by 11.06% between 2002 and 2006.

According to Vinexpo’s research the value outlook to 2006 is even rosier than this as the overall market is growing 2.5 times faster in value than it is in volume. Just think of all that extra cash to spend on exhibitions …

As vast as Vinexpo is, you can’t spend all your time running from stand to stand and there is a dazzling range of events, seminars, meetings and tastings, as well as delicious workshops from the Slow Food Society to choose from. Here is just a selection of the delights on offer.

SUNDAY JUNE 19

10.00-11.30am

Tasting: Introduction to the top wines of Austria

Organised by: Austrian Wine Marketing Board

Presented by: Peter Moser, chief editor, Falstaff Magazine

Location: Room 221, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: info@winesfromaustria.com

10.00am-12.00noon

Seminar: Avoiding margin destruction, the case for currency hedging

Organised by: Vinexpo

Location: Room 231, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: philippe.newlin@us.calyon.com

2.00-5.30pm

Tasting: A few of the millenium’s vintages – Saint-Emilion Grands Crus Classés

Organised by:  Association des Grands Crus Classés de Saint-Emilion

Location: Espace Dégustation, Hall 3

Entrance free

Contact: marie-stephane.malbec@wanadoo.fr

3.00-4.30pm 

Slow Food Workshop: Sweet wines from Aquitaine and chocolates from Ecuador

Organised by: Vinexpo/Slow Food

Location: Room 221, Hall 2

Booking required

Contact: marketing@vinexpo.com

MONDAY JUNE 20

9.30am-12.30pm

Seminar: Counterfeiting and traceability: the solutions

Organised by: French National Printing Service

Presented by: Loïc de la Cochetière, chairman of Imprimerie Nationale; Pierre Delval, Imprimerie Nationale Governmental Commission; Jacques Trabant, expert for Imprimerie Nationale

Location: Convention Centre Amphi B

Entrance free

 

9.30am-12.30pm

Conference: Being a sommelier in the 21st century

Organised by: Vinexpo

Location: Convention Centre, Amphi C

Entrance free

Contact: v.germe@vinexpo.com

 

10.00am-5.00pm

Tasting: Vins de Pays d’Oc and Languedoc-Roussillon AOC

Organised by: Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon et Syndicat des Vins de Pays d’Oc

Location: Room 223, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: ludivine-coignard@vinspaysdoc.fr

 

10.30am-1.00pm

Seminar: Savoir Boire-Savoir Vivre – the latest scientific research on wine and health

Organised by: Vinexpo/OIV

Location: Room 231, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: marketing@vinexpo.com

 

10.30-5.30pm

Tasting: Médoc & Haut-Médoc AOC 2002

Organised by: Médoc et Graves Group

Location: Room 211, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: medoc@medoc-bordeaux.com

2.30-5.30pm

Seminar: The internet and its contribution to wine advertising and marketing

Organised by: Vitisphère/Vinexpo

Location: Convention Centre Amphi B

Entrance free

Contact:

anne.schoendoerffer@vitisphere.com

 

3.00-4.30pm

Tasting: Spanish Grands Crus

Organised by: Grandes Pagos de España

Location: Room 221, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: jordividalr@hotmail.com

3.00-4.30pm

Slow Food Workshop: World spices and fizz

Organised by: Vinexpo/Slow Food

Location: Convention Centre

Booking required

Contact: marketing@vinexpo.com

 

TUESDAY JUNE 21

9.00am-5.30pm

Tasting: Chablis Grands Crus

Organised by: Union des Grands Crus de Chablis

Location: Convention Centre

Entrance free

Contact: connapp@dial.oleane.com

10.00am-12.00noon

IWSC Trophy Announcement

Organised by: International Wine and Spirit Competition

Location: Room 223, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: lesley@iwsc.co.uk

 

10.30am-1.00pm 

Seminar: Savoir Boire-Savoir Vivre: How to drink, how to eat – the same approach and responsibility

Location: Room 231, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: marketing@vinexpo.com

 

10.30am-5.30pm

Tasting: Graves Red, Graves Supérieures AOC 2002 and 2003 and Graves White AOC 2003 and 2004

Organised by: Médoc et Graves Group

Location: Room 211, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: medoc@medoc-bordeaux.com

 

12.30-2.00pm

Tasting of Galliss Cognacs

Organised by: Eurocis Holding AS

Location: Room 222, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: odenis-gallis@co.ru

 

12.30-2.00pm

Slow Food Workshop: The Bigorre Black Pig and Cantonese culinary tradition

Organised by: Vinexpo/Slow Food

Location: Convention Centre

Booking required

Contact: marketing@vinexpo.com

WEDNESDAY JUNE 22

9.00am-1.00pm

Tasting: Sauternes and Barsac Grands Crus Classés in 1855: selection of the latest vintages

Organised by: Syndicat des Crus Classés de Sauternes et Barsac

Location: Room 223, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: marie-stephane.malbec@wanadoo.fr

 

9.30am-12.30pm

Seminar: The concept of terroir: its development and variety worldwide

Organised by: INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine)

Presented by: Yves Benard; Bianchi De Aguiar; Jorge Tonietto

Location: Convention Centre Amphi C

Entrance free

Contact: p.mauguin@inao.gouv.fr

 

10.00-11.30am

Slow Food Workshop: The Bigorre Black Pig and Cantonese culinary tradition

Organised by: Vinexpo/Slow Food

Location: Convention Centre

Booking required

Contact: marketing@vinexpo.com

 

10.30am-12.30pm

Seminar: How to optimise the wine assortment in multiples

Organised by: Sopexa

Location: Convention Centre Amphi B

Entrance free

Contact: martine.albessart@sopexa.com

 

10.30-1.00pm

Seminar: Savoir Boire-Savoir Vivre: Responsible marketing of alcoholic drinks

Organised by: Vinexpo/Portman Group

Location: Room 231, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: marketing@vinexpo.com

 

10.30am-5.30pm

Tasting: Moulis AOC 2002 and 2004 and a tasting of Listrac AOC 2001 and 2002

Organised by: Médoc et Graves Group

Location: Room 211, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: medoc@medoc-bordeaux.com

 

2.00-6.00pm

Tasting: Wines of Pomerol

Organised by:  Syndicat viticole et agricole de Pomerol

Location: Room 223, Hall 2

entrance free

Contact: marie-stephane.malbec@wanadoo.fr

 

2.30-5.30pm

Discussion on the AOC concept: The state of play and outlook

Organised by: INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine)

Presented by: René Renou, chairman of INAO; Philippe Mauguin, CEO of INAO

Location: Convention Centre Amphi C

Entrance free

Contact: p.mauguin@inao.gouv.fr

 

2.30-5.30pm

Conference: How to reconcile wine’s development and health’s imperatives

Organised by: Vin et Société

Location: Room 231, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: virginie.gandrand@monAOC.com

 

3.00-4.30pm

Slow Food Workshop: Pauillac lamb and Médoc Wines

Organised by: Vinexpo/Slow Food

Location: Convention Centre

Booking required

Contact: marketing@vinexpo.com

 

3.00-4.30pm

Tasting: Discovery of Japanese Sake: Introduction and tasting

Organised by: Miyasaka Brewing

Location: Room 221, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: domgrand@tgk.janis.or.jp

 

THURSDAY JUNE 23

10.30am-12.30pm

Seminar: What are the opportunities for exports of French Wine?

Organised by: Atradius

Location: Room 231, Hall 2

Entrance free

Contact: nien.deo@atradius.com

 

12.00noon-3.00pm

Christie’s Fine Wine Auction 

Location: Convention Centre Amphi C

Entrance free

Contact: flasry@christies.com

 

12.30-2.00pm

Slow Food Workshop: An introduction to the five basic flavours of Szechwan cuisine and Jura wines

Organised by: Vinexpo/Slow Food

Location: Convention Centre

Booking required

Contact: marketing@vinexpo.com

© db June 2005