Wine Paris-Vinexpo 2023: Paris, capital of the wine planet
Vineyard on the Wine Route in Alsace, eastern France.
Second world producer behind Italy in 2022, France is seeing a drop in consumption affecting its market.
Getty Images - Andrea Pistolesi
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The wine planet is meeting this Monday, February 13 and for three days at the Wine Paris - Vinexpo Paris trade fair, which opens at Porte de Versailles in the south of the French capital.
Fifty-one countries are represented, alongside France, and 30,000 visitors are expected for this event which aims to make Paris an international market place in this sector.
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During this “great festival of world wines”, merchants, wine merchants and restaurateurs will uncork bottles from around fifty producing countries, mainly from Europe but also from the United States, Japan and Chile.
For Rodolphe Lameyse, general manager of the organizer Vinexposium, "
the objective
, on the 31,000 square meters of exhibition space at the Porte de Versailles,
is that the maximum number of commercial transactions take place or are initiated, so that the global - and French - trade in wines and spirits is doing well
," he told AFP.
"
Purchases are made at the very beginning of the year between February and April
", which makes the Parisian meeting "
a pivotal moment in the calendar
“, he says again.
Convenient
Asked by RFI, Rodolphe Lameyse also insists on the practical side of the
show
: “
The professional visitor will be able to wander through the halls by territory.
Very concretely, I am a buyer, I want to see all Burgundy wines, I find them in one place.
I want to see all the wines of Alsace, I find them in one place, and that's essential, it allows me to be much more efficient and to be sure not to miss anything.
»
"
And that's what we want
, he continues,
any buyer, whatever he is, and whatever the volume and the origin of his country, will find what is best, we will get out of somewhat "mainstream" wines, we are going to look for the nugget, the rare wine that we want to offer, either to restaurateurs or to distribution chains.
We were brave in 2022 when we decided to open our doors at the height of the sixth wave, there, our buyers trusted us, they give us back the work we have done, and come in greater numbers.
We are at more than 20% growth compared to 2022, which is remarkable
.
»
Drop in consumption in France
With nearly 3,400 exhibitors (up 31% compared to 2022) and 30,000 professionals expected, the show opens its doors in a gloomy period for the French vineyard.
Second world producer behind Italy in 2022, it combines a drop in consumption in France and more structural difficulties in certain vineyards, such as Bordeaux.
The show will also host the winner of the World's Best Sommelier competition, the Latvian Raimonds Tomsons, for a
masterclass
on Monday, the day after his victory in Paris.
(
With
AFP)
►Also read
: The 162nd Hospices de Beaune wine auction for the cause of children
(
November 18, 2022
)
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