Vinexpo news and insights

We wish that everyone who loves wine, gets to walk the red carpet at Vinexpo in Bordeaux, at least once in their life. It is pretty amazing to glide to a stop on the glass tram then step out on to - what 500 m or so?- of floating pontoon/red carpet, and to arrive in the massive convention space. This was our third Vinexpo and it was still exciting to meet suppliers and try new vintages and look at new products.

The Vinexpo stats are pretty impressive.

• about 2350 exhibitors from 42 countries- a conspicuous absence of oz producers one would have to say.
• close to 50,000 visitors- down a little on 2013 but exhibitors commented on a higher "quality" of visitors and more deals done and more optimism generally compared to 2013. Foreigners made up 36% of visitors with China, USA, Spain and Italy leading the way.
• some new innovations including Digizone where digital/social marketing innovations were a focus, there was a Vinexpo mobile app and One2Wine- a digital meeting booking system. 
• Many of the innovations were aimed at keeping up with Prowein which exhibitors praised for bigger size, more international focus, lower costs, more efficiency and better timing in vintage/buying cycle (March). Fair enough but hey Dusseldorf is not Bordeaux right!

Winners

• rosé: sales continue to climb, and there is an emerging differentiation between premium rosé (such as our Domaine de la Croix) and "vin de soif" (scoffing wines). There are now second labels of premium rosé and just about every European appellation seems to be making one, not just Provence and Bordeaux and certainly not just France. 
• grower champagne: buyers seem to be turning away from the perpetually discounted brands and looking for authentic artisanal products. Grower champagne has hit the mainstream says Jancis Robinson and there seemed to be plenty of evidence of that. Our own Achille Princier has been exceptionally well recieved and the Mansard Family are now struggling with demand.
• "garagiste" or "vinarchiste " or "super" wines. Call them what you will but producers in  Bordeaux, Loire, Languedoc, Rhone and even Burgundy are breaking the appellation rules and happily calling their wines Vin de France or IGP wines especially so for the export market. They are making modern, clean, varietal driven wines still authentic and expressive and usually under screw cap! Anarchy! Watch this space! We have some new lines to launch in Oz later this year.
• biodynamic/organic wines are ready for prime time. Currently 8% of French wines are certified as organic but it seems like the number under conversion is vast. Certainly in the price points/quality levels we were looking at, it felt like the majority of producers are organic or in conversion.The poster below from Producteurs Plaimont, the biggest producer in Madiran and St Mont is a sign of the times with an increasing proportion of their vineyards converting to organic. 
• the "small" appellations of Bordeaux: Bourg, Canon-Fronsac, St Emilion satellites, Graves, Listrac-Médoc etc where there has been great strides made in quality of production in recent years.
• Bordeaux the city. Is it possible to be in love with a city? I hope so because we sure are! It just seems to be getting better at every visit. And it is about to go up a notch with the arrival of the super fast train from Paris and the International City of Wine (Wine Museum) both possibly in time for Vinexpo 2017. The new museum alone is expected to attract more than one million visitors per year.

Losers

• Sauternes- lots of talk about the resistance in the market to "sticky" wines but the increased attention on wines such as Jurançon with high acidity/dryer finish. We expect to see falling Sauternes prices esp outside of the top brands and more and more dry Sauternes which are wonderful Graves/White Bordeaux and well received in the market
• vintage 2013: a very difficult wet vintage in many parts of France. Some wines are OK where the wines were not "over-made" and meticulous vineyard methods and section practices were followed. One of our producers lost his entire vintage due to rot in the vineyard (organic producer). Many of our producers were happy to let us pass over the 2013's and go straight to the 2014 wines which are generously fabulous. This was worth the price of the trip alone.
• homogeneous Bordeaux: There are lots of excellent wines out there but there was a "sameness" to many of the Bordeaux we tasted (perhaps reflecting modern wine-making methods across the regions) so we have concentrated on some authentic small producers and wines with some distinct character or a good story. It was a case of finding some outstanding gems amongst the very good pack so (as before) we end up with well curated lists.

At DiscoverVin we firmly believe there is a growing market for good value Bordeaux and wines across southern France especially the south west appellations, Rhone and Provence. We work with mostly small independent producers that are working on renewed vineyards/wineries. Many are at the forefront of the movement towards organic and biodynamic production. All are making authentic, terroir driven delicious and good value wines. Our trip to Bordeaux affirmed the importance of the types of wines we are looking for.

And now a final word on Vinexpo, commercialisation and product placement....."Don't lose a drop of it" !

Vinexpo- Part 2 Le Crachoir

Crachoir- The Spittoon

A busy schedule at Vinexpo meant lots of tasting for the Discovervin team. Tasting but not drinking. Le Crachoir was always strategically placed. The verb "to spit" in French is cracher- doesn't it sound nicer?? So were were always ready to cracher after each tasting each wine.

During their time at Vinexpo the Discovervin team had profitable meetings with several Bordeaux negogiants. All were keen to send their wine downunder and we will soon be stocking some excellent Bordeaux wines; premier cru, petit chateau and second label wines.

Each meeting was held in a specific meeting space at the negogiant’s stand. While sharing the wine the sales consultant would explain the wine, its provenance, producer, appellation and characteristics. Spitting into the crachoir was mandatory. There would be two or three crachoir per table and when full they were emptied by an assistant. Wonderful wine down the drain!

We also met with existing suppliers, Chateau Lagrezette, Producers Plaimont and Accents du Sud Ouest. They showed us new vintages of our existing wines, which were all of a high quality and tempted us with other wines in their portfolios. The Cahors Malbecs from Chateau Lagrezette were full of flavour and structure especially the 2005 Dame des Honneurs – which we have just added to our portfolio.

Dessert wines from south west appellations continued to impress. More luscious Monbazilliacs, well balanced honeyed Jurancon moelluex wine and a gorgeous St Croix de Mont.

This entry concludes witha question – Is Australia ready for Saussignac? We found an elegant, crisp wine from this very small appellation – pear, white peach, spice, great flavours – Watch this space! Let us know if you would like to try a Saussignac.

Vinexpo-Part 1 The Experience

The red carpet pontoon stretched over the lake to the immense exhibition hall. Vinexpo was on the other side. With excitement and some degree of trepidation the Discovervin Team flashed our credentials and followed the red carpet into a world of wine. It should be noted that we were happy to see two life guards in a rubber raft floating happily next to the carpeted pontoon, ready to save any expeditioner who may have mis-stepped on the red carpet.

Once inside the main exhibition space, Hall 1, we walked at least 800 metres to Hall 3. This and Hall 2 are two other large exhibition spacesn, set at right angles to the main hall. Hall 3 Row N was our destination as this is where we had our first Vinexpo appointment. On the way we passed stylish stands with wines from across France.

The quality of the stands was incredible. Designer furniture, meeting nooks, bars, lounge suites, elegantly dressed hostesses, every conceivable way of displaying wine, lights, posters, magazines etc- no expense spared and of course WINE.

Outside restaurants and brassieres lined the sidewalk. Seafood – with an oyster bar, and cuisines linked to the countries and regions show cased at Vinexpo including; Tuscan, Provencal,Corsican, Alsace. We chose the Brasserie Chez Yvette from Archachon on the Atlantic coast not far from Bordeaux.

There were close to 50,000 visitors to Vinexpo over its 5 days, from over 140 countries. The Chinese were the largest non-French presence with all exhibitors eager to woo them. The Australian presence was subdued, both in terms of exhibitors – mostly large producers like Penfolds- and attendees.

Walking the length of Hall 1, was a full kilometre, an international oenological experience. On that journey we passed through Italy, Argentina, Israel, California, Oregon, Chile and Spain, all with a myriad of producers showing their distinctive wines. Side trips to Provence or Languedoc- Rousillon were possible. Another detour was to step outside to the lakeside stall of the Champagne houses.