ANIVIN gears up for Vin de France blind tasting

Around 40 buyers from across the world will flock to Paris this week for trade body Vin de France’s annual blind tasting.

33 international buyers took part in Vin de France’s 2018 tasting (Photo: Vin de France)

The buyers will form the judging panel for the Best Value Vin de France tasting on Friday 8 February, sampling varietal French wines that have helped to bolster country’s wine economy for the past decade.

Run by Anivin de France, the trade organisation that promotes wines with the Vin de France denomination, the tasting is designed to find the best value wines from within the category with which to promote it over the course of the year.

Noël Bougrier, the trade body’s president, said that the Vin de France designation appeals to consumers due to its “offering of modern wines crafted to exceed consumer expectations.”

First established in 2009, the Vin de France certification allows producers to label their wines by grape variety as opposed to region, allowing wineries from either side of the country to create blends. The vintage can also be added to the front label.

The aim behind the certification is to make French wines “more accessible,” Peter Nixon, head of Dan Murphy’s wine panel in Australia, said.

Sourcing grapes from across the country allows producers to reduce harvest related risks and achieve a more consistent flavour profile in the end product.

Today, there are 758 wineries offering brands with a Vin de France certification.

Around 89 million bottles of Vin de France wines were exported last year, more than a 9% increase on 2017 in both volume and value.

The three biggest export markets are the UK, Germany and the US with Vin de France showing strong increases in countries where it has recently been introduced, such as Australia.

More than 500 wines were entered into last year’s tasting, with 151 winning a medal. Of these, 53 were awarded golds, while 98 won silver medals.

The competition, which is organised by the French Union of Oenologists, sees the panel split into five groups before blind tasting the entered wines and judging them on colour, nose, mouthfeel and quality. The scores are then averaged and, according to the average reached, medals are awarded.

The judges are selected from all over the world including the USA, Europe, Australia and China.

For more information, head to the ANIVIN website.