Lameyse: New Vinexpo concept causing a stir

Vinexpo’s CEO, Rodolphe Lameyse, has said that his new concept for the flagship Bordeaux event is causing a stir in the region.

Speaking to the drinks business during the recent Vinexpo Explorer trip in Beaujolais, Lameyse said that a new concept for Bordeaux would be launched in 2021 with full details being revealed during next year’s Hong Kong show.

He said: “People are very excited by what I have proposed”.

Speaking to db earlier this year, Lameyse said that “the old days are over” for the Bordeaux show in its current form and it needed to evolve.

In his view Vinexpo had “three legs” currently: its trade shows, the new concept for Bordeaux and the Explorer trips.

The shows in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and new addition Paris will remain unchanged though Lameyse said previously that he doesn’t want to make them the biggest but rather, “smaller shows that are more effective in terms of business. If you want to be a premium show you can’t be the largest. I’ll leave the Tesco approach to the Germans”.

As for the new Bordeaux concept, Lameyse was giving little away in Beaujolais but in his previous db interview this May, he talked about the Bordeaux show being a much more Bordeaux-dedicated event and possibly having it earlier in the year, around April, and in conjunction with primeurs week.

Spirits is another sector that Vinexpo is pursuing with great intent. Lameyse said that the Explorer trips would be broadened out to include spirits regions in future.

There’s now a dedicated spirits team at Vinexpo and at its first Paris show – in partnership with Wine Paris next February – there is going to be a spirits section.

Lameyse even said that, “if things go right” there may even be the possibility of spinning it off into its own show but that would be a decision for further down the line.

Lameyse took over at Vinexpo at a rocky time in its history and commented that the atmosphere surrounding this year’s Vinexpo Bordeaux was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

He said: “I can’t recall a moment in my professional life where I’ve been swallowed up and chewed up like that.”

But things were different now, he continued, “I’m confident. Change is coming”.