2024 Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris: The Report

The 5th Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris has turned the current economic challenges into strategic opportunities for the wine and spirits industry. This year, the event has established its credentials not only as a pivotal hub for business, but also as an influential platform, stepping up its decisive role in the business and political space globally.

2024 marks a turning point, with Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris making a sustainable economic contribution to the wine and spirits industry. Exhibitor numbers rose to 4,074, including 53% from overseas representing 48 producer countries, underscoring Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris’ enhanced appeal and international scope. Visitor attendance increased by 14% on the previous exhibition to 41,253 and included 41% international visitors from 137 countries, illustrating the event’s overall reach and growing influence.

Vinexposium’s commitment to business development was mirrored in the 30% rise in attendance by the main buyers from key markets. The top 5 nations represented after France were Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany. The matchmaking service also reached a new performance milestone with 10,146 appointments between producers and buyers made online.

Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris, a place of influence

Placed under the high patronage of Mr Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris received visits by three French ministers and 27 ambassadors, including those from the United States, Italy, Portugal, Japan, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, China, New Zealand and Australia.

The 2024 Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris opening ceremony saw keynote speeches by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Marc Fesneau, and the Minister of State for Public Accounts, Thomas Cazenave. The collaborative tone of the opening speeches, with input by Vinexposium CEO Rodolphe Lameyse, highlighted the event’s role as a strategic space where the industry can speak with one voice, share ideas and meet current challenges while also setting its sights on a sustainable future. The significance of international trade and the collaborative efforts required to cope with geo-economic risks were also underscored.

A visit by Frank Riester, Minister of State for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, ended the third day by describing the event as a major exhibition for wine and spirits exports, stressing the importance of wines and spirits to France’s export trade balance. 2023 French export results were in fact announced at Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris by the FEVS.

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), with which Vinexposium works collaboratively, granted its patronage to the scientific sessions of the ON! programme. The event also offered a valuable opportunity for OIV, which took part for the entire three days, to meet many international industry personalities.

Even greater buzz for the ON! and OFF programmes

The ON! programme was enhanced in order to foster dialogue and provide the industry with food for thought. 126 sessions featured on the official programme, in addition to individual presentations hosted on exhibitor stands.

Paul Robinson, wine director at Robinson Wine Merchants, recounts: “As a buyer, it is my responsibility to prioritise business appointments at Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris, but I attended two panel discussions which I found extremely interesting. The ON! programme is one of the highlights of the exhibition”.

The OFF programme, which featured a selection of 200 restaurants and bars across the capital, encouraged attendees to continue their conversations after nightfall in a more relaxed setting.

Angelo Martelli, director at Super Buyrite, found inspiration there: “With so many appointments on stands by day, I particularly enjoyed being able to continue my business relations in the evening as part of the OFF programme. Paris truly is an ideal city for this and the selection was great. It’s that little extra that makes all the difference”.

Be Spirits, an enhanced range

In 2024, Be Spirits reached a whole new level with 26 producer countries exhibiting, an extra 47% floor spaced compared with 2023 and nearly 200 exhibitors, 54% of them new. Alongside the many French exhibitors, international attendee numbers soared by 92%.

The hall designed for spirits, no/lows, beers and ciders attracted buyers and mixologists from across the globe. The robust programme of debates and masterclasses aimed at deciphering markets, exploring the most revolutionary products and responding jointly to the business issues of the future attracted a full house.

Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris 2024 ends, but ushers in the next 12 months

Until the next Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris from 10 to 12 February 2025, the industry is invited to Hong Kong from 28 to 30 May for Vinexpo Asia, New York on 24 and 25 June for Vinexpo America, Mumbai on 16 and 17 September for Vinexpo India, and Amsterdam on 25 and 26 November for the World Bulk Wine Exhibition (WBWE).

Coravin Launches Single-Serve Vinitas System

Coravin, a global wine technology company, revolutionized the way wine is consumed 10 years ago with the launch of its preservation system that pours wine without removing the cork.

Coravin is now disrupting the category again with the launch of its next industry-changing device, Coravin Vinitas™, designed to help businesses share preserved tastings of wine with “try before you buy” while boosting interest in wine education.

Coravin Vinitas™ System

Coravin Vinitas™ is a revolutionary small-footprint device that transfers wine into smaller consumables with up to 12 months of preservation.

“Until now, there has not been a scalable automated product that creates single-serve formats and maintains the quality of the wine inside for months, as opposed to weeks,” said Greg Lambrecht, Coravin founder and inventor. “With Coravin Vinitas™, companies, hospitality services, and trade can sample and fractionalize any bottle, any time, on-site, ensuring the highest quality experience for businesses and consumers, no more needlessly shipping full-size bottles where only a taste is needed.”

“During the early days of the pandemic, we spotted a gap in the market for this type of self-use fractionalization device that would allow our customers to send samples, preserved for months, to their trade customers and consumers,” said Chris Ladd, Coravin CEO. “Since then, we have continued to see the wine industry struggle to connect with a younger consumer audience who have far more options to choose from than previous generations. Coravin Vinitas™ addresses this need and is primed to change the way the world consumes wine.”

Coravin spent more than eighteen months building and testing the Coravin Vinitas™ with wineries, retailers, and wine schools around the world including Napa Valley Wine Academy, Langton’s, Ceretto, Château Montelena, ONX, Alkina, Stéphane Derenoncourt of Domaine de l’A, Château Haut Bailly, Tooth & Nail Wine Co., Benom, Clos Solene, Claudio Martins Wine Advisor, Justin Leone, and more.

To learn more CoravinVinitas.com.

The World Premier of wine documentary Eastbound Westbound – A Winemaker’s Story (from Bordeaux and California) launches on APPLE TV+ May 12, 2023

E Studioz, and PMG Productions, co-producers of the documentary, offer a thrilling investigation, plunging the viewer into the heart of the history and culture of wine.

Bordeaux independent film producer, E Studioz, is launching on APPLE TV+ May 12 an original wine documentary that traces and demonstrates the historical and unwavering links between the United States and Bordeaux and their wines – Eastbound Westbound – A Winemaker’s Story. This modern and fast-paced cinematic documentary was conceived from an original idea by Gerard Spatafora and Frédéric Lot, co-written by Jeffrey Davies, and directed by Julien Couson, founder of PMG Productions.

An investigation like no other Eastbound Westbound lets the viewer understand how this Franco-American friendship around Bordeaux wines had its starting point in the 18th century around the greatest connoisseur of fine wines and lover of Bordeaux, Thomas Jefferson, US Ambassador to Paris, and the third President of the United States.

To better demonstrate Thomas Jefferson’s legacy, this intimate relationship between the two wine-growing continents is illustrated through interlinked portraits of distinguished wine families, from varied backgrounds, all sharing passion for wine. Leading players in their field, they produce some of the best wines in the world. These endearing and outstanding women and men are introduced in a more contemporary section by American wine merchant and former wine journalist Jeffrey Davies, an expert on the terroirs and winemaking fabric in Bordeaux and on the other side of the Atlantic. Jeffrey will meet and exchange about this relationship with the worldwide famous critic Robert Parker.

Commenced in 2020, this project was made possible through the support of four great and charismatic Bordeaux wine families, the main actors in this film, appearing as themselves in this opus. HRH Prince Robert of Luxembourg (Château Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion in Pessac-Léognan, and Quintus in Saint-Émilion), Alfred, Justine and Noé Tesseron (Château Pontet-Canet in Pauillac and Pym-Rae in Napa Valley), Claire and Gonzague Lurton (Château Haut-Bages Liberal in Pauillac, Château Dufort-Vivens in Margaux and Acaibo in Sonoma) and Denise Adams (Château Fonplégade in Saint-Émilion and Adamus in Napa Valley) are the cornerstones of this first episode. These charismatic families, all major wine producers, were drawn by the spirit of entrepreneurship while taking risks to taste the “California dream” Other well-known American names have taken the opposite path by investing in the Bordeaux vineyard, the true epicenter – in reputation as well as in know-how – of world viticulture.

Awards Received
April 2023 – the film received three awards by The Annual TASTE AWARDS, Hollywood, California. Often called “The Oscars of Food, Fashion and Lifestyle Media”, The Annual TASTE AWARDS are the original awards for the Lifestyle Entertainment Industry, and the highest awards for creators, producers, hosts, and directors of Lifestyle Programs, Series, Shows & Cinema.

Eastbound Westbound – A Winemaker’s Story, received the following awards :

  • Special Achievement Honoree Award Winners – Spotlight Award;
  • Film Category Taste Award Nominee Best Feature-Length Film or Documentary; and
  • Best Director Craft Awards Nominee.

Eastbound Westbound Website: https://eastboundwestbound.wine/
Watch the Trailer: https://eastboundwestbound.wine/watch-the-trailer/

 

CGA’s December’s “US Consumer Impact Report” reveals that bars and restaurants are essential for driving awareness of drinks brands

CGA by NielsenIQ’s latest consumer research reveals that bars and restaurants are essential for driving awareness of drinks brands, with 61% of consumers more likely to look for new brands in the on premise as opposed in stores and 54% stating they’ve made an in-store purchase of a brand that they first tried in the on premise.

CGA’s Consumer Impact report highlights 1,600 consumer behaviors across Florida, Texas, California and New York. The latest research highlights that the frequency of visits to the on premise have remained stable, with 4 in 5 consumers visiting bars and restaurants 3 or more times in the last three months. Plans for visiting also remain very positive with around 73% of US consumers planning to go out in the next weeks.

Consumers continue to seek out new experiences in bars and restaurants, with consumers more likely to first try a new Spirits or Beer brand in the on premise over an in-store purchase – underlining how important venues are in building brand awareness and encouraging trial.

Trial of new drinks brands in bars and restaurants is highly likely to compel consumers in their purchasing decisions in the off premise too – with 54% of consumers agreeing they have made a purchase in store of brands that they first tried in the on premise. 3 in 5 consumers also agree that they are likely to look for new brands in store if they’ve already tried them at a bar or restaurant.

Not only are on premise purchases informing in-store buying behaviors, they also help to build loyalty – with two thirds of consumers agreeing that if they try a new brand they like in a bar or restaurant, they will continue drinking it on subsequent visits.

Ahead of the holiday season, two thirds of US consumers are planning to visit the on premise throughout this period, with 3 in 10 planning to visit on New Year’s Eve specifically. These consumers are planning to visit a range of food- and drink-led venues, with neighborhood bars, fine dining and sports bars leading the list of most popular venues, while beer is the drink of choice for New Year’s Eve.

Moving into the new year, almost 2 in 5 US consumers predict they will visit the on premise more or much more often than they did in 2022, while half plan to maintain their current frequency of visitation. A third of consumers predict their spend in bars and restaurants will increase over the next 12 months, with 2 in 5 consumers willing to spend more for better quality drinks compared to 2022 – providing significant opportunities for premium drinks brands.

Source: CGA Strategy

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South African viticulturists predict a smaller 2023 harvest

South African viticulturists and producers are predicting a smaller 2023 wine grape crop following a “healthy, yet dry season.”

This is the second consecutive year the grape crop is expected to be lower than the previous year, after 2022’s challenging harvest due to the uprooting of vineyards causing a decline in the overall vineyard area.

“At this very early stage the net decrease in the estimate is mainly attributed to all our growing regions that have experienced a drier season, except for the Northern Cape which has had its own difficult environmental conditions during and after the harvest,” said Conrad Schutte, manager of Vinpro’s team of viticulturists who issue the crop estimates with the industry body SAWIS.

“Poor flowering and set in various areas, together with the uprooting of vineyards, also contributed to the decrease in our estimate for the 2023 harvest.”

In the Northern Cape, where unseasonably wet and rainy conditions are said to have characterized the season, vines budded on a minimal reserve status and from the beginning, fewer bunches were formed. Foliage also grew poorly and even stopped temporarily in some instances.

In the rest of the regions, flowering conditions were reportedly good to outstanding. Few diseases and pests occurred, but the general average rainfall was lower in most regions compared to the previous year, which will impact berry sizes, especially in the dryland regions, thus influencing the total grape production.

“The season looks promising, but a lot could change leading up to the harvest,” Schutte added.

The next crop estimate by viticulturists and producer cellars will be released in the third week of January 2023.

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