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Christophe Navarre: ‘Are we improving the world by saying ‘buy local’?

20 July 2022 By Patrick Schmitt

A concern for the environment should not be used to restrict people’s freedoms and choices, said Vinexposium’s chairman of the board, Christophe Navarre – although he’d like to see a ban on plastic bottles.

Speaking during the closing session at last month’s Act for Change symposium in Bordeaux, which was organised by Vinexposium, Navarre was asked for his views on finding ways to promote the experience of wine in more sustainable ways by wine critic and consultant Robert Joseph.

While Joseph said that the wine conference in Bordeaux may have been more environmentally friendly had it been conducted over zoom, it would also have been a far less effective event for many reasons, not least because the symposium provided an valuable way to meet new faces, catch up with past contacts, and enjoy the fine wines and foods of France.

But how would Navarre make the wine trade more sustainable? Would he conduct all business via digital means?

Turning the subject to trade shows specifically, Navarre stressed that the strength of Vinexposium’s approach was that it physically “goes to the market”, not only in Bordeaux, but Paris and New York, as well as Singapore – the location for next year’s Asian show – before commenting that the exhibition organiser was in fact planning to expand its reach, and wants to be “on all continents”, mentioning Africa as a future opportunity.

“It is important to put people together,” he said, “But you need to do it in the right way, and you need people from the wineries going to the market; you must not stop travelling because of good governance.”

Continuing, he said that the drinks trade should not feel obliged to travel less, but, it was a question of human ingenuity to find more sustainable ways of moving around the world.

“We need airlines to consume less fuel; we need to continue to live,” he stated.

However, he then asked himself, “What must we do immediately to have an impact?” Answering this, he said, by way of example, “We see so much plastic in the Mediterranean sea, so why don’t we immediately forbid plastic bottles?”

“If we are serious, we need to take action, and demonstrate the impact,” he added.

Navarre also expressed his views on the local sourcing of products.

“Freedom is the biggest asset we have, so are we improving the world by saying things like ‘buy local’? The solution is to find a more efficient way,” he said, before saying, half-joking, “You might say I shouldn’t see my wife in the USA, but find a new one in France in my village.”

Finally, and notably, he stressed the need to bring people together for brand building.

“Personally, I believe less and less in marketing and I believe more and more in creating emotion; we succeeded in Champagne because of parties: Moët was the Champagne of winners, and we had so many parties in the world that people came in contact with the brand,” he said.

As a result, he said, “The best way to create a brand is to have small parties, and then rely on word of mouth, which is very effective; people make a difference, and I don’t believe that machines and digital will replace human relations and human contact.”

Organised by Vinexposium on 20 and 21 June 2022 at the Cité du Vin, the Symposium ‘Act for Change’ gathered 35 international experts representing 17 nationalities for a series of discussions focusing on the future of wines and spirits between now and 2030.

The event, which was held as part of Bordeaux Wine Week, addressed the main issues affecting the wine and spirits industry, including changing consumer patterns, the consequences of climate change and their impact on the production and distribution of wine and spirits.

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