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‘When the French call, you have to obey’
“When the French call, you have to obey”, joked Willi Klinger, head of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, as he opened the inaugural Vinexpo Explorer in Vienna today.
Guillaume Deglise (left) and Willi Klinger introduced the first ever Vinexpo Explorer in Vienna today. Picture credit: Anna Stöcher
Speaking to almost 100 buyers from around the world who have flown in to attend the two-day programme in the European city, Klinger said that he wanted Austria to be the first host-country for Vinexpo Explorer, having been invited by the French company to collaborate on the new initiative.
Having initially made light of the invitation, Klinger said that he trusted Vinexpo – the global exhibition organiser based in Bordeaux – to bring greater exposure to Austrian wine, complimenting the fair-organiser on its ability to run major international events.
Co-hosting the opening conference alongside Klinger was Vinexpo’s chief executive officer Guillaume Deglise, who took trouble to explain why Vinexpo Explorer differed from the fair organiser’s exhibitions, which take place in Bordeaux, Hong Kong and Tokyo, and, in March next year, New York too.
“Vinexpo Explorer is the latest edition to our programme, and the idea is to gather international buyers and bring them to a country to discover the vineyards, the wines, and the heritage – we want them to discover the cultural part of the county too.”
Continuing, he said, “But our job is to organise business meetings… and you are at liberty to meet with many wine growers over two days of tastings, seminars and masterclasses,”
Guillaume then explained that Vinexpo Explorer was designed not only to connect producers with buyers, but also to bring buyers from around the world closer together.
“The idea is Idea is to build a community of buyers… we feel it is important for buyers to share best-practice and contacts – so this is also the aim of the Vinexpo Explorer show.”
Mentioning his intention to hold a Vinexpo Explorer every year, Deglise said that 2018 would see “a new chapter in a different destination”, although he made it clear that he wouldn’t announce the location of Vinexpo Explorer 2018 until the end of this year’s event.
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