Vinexpo Explorer to visit spirit region next

As part of its drive to capture the burgeoning spirits scene, Vinexpo is going to include visits to famous eaux-de-vie producing regions as part of its ‘Explorer’ trips for buyers.

Rodolphe Lameyse, Directeur Général of Vinexpo, Bordeaux.

Speaking with the drinks business at the current Vinexpo Explorer in Beaujolais, Vinexpo’s CEO, Rodolphe Lameyse, said that he and his team were “working hard” to develop the concept “for spirits as well”.

He continued that the next Vinexpo Explorer trip in either 2020 or 2021 will (probably) be to a well-known spirits producing territory and, in due course, trips to wine and spirits regions will run in the same year.

Lameyse said he was “glad we have this event in our portfolio” and said it was a “vital strategic” accompaniment to its trade shows around the world.

He said that the choice of Beaujolais – after previous events in Austria and Sonoma – was quite deliberate; not only because Beaujolais is one of France’s up-and-coming wine regions ripe for further discovery but also because it was a chance for Vinexpo to reconnect with some of the French regions outside of Bordeaux.

He admitted that Vinexpo’s relationship with various Interprofessions, “has not always been great” but he hoped that could change and events such as Vinexpo Explorer where Vinexpo brings international buyers to a particular region was a way to show “how else we can work with them”.

Dominique Piron, president of InterBeaujolais, added that he had been delighted when Beaujolais was first mooted as a potential region for Vinexpo to visit some time ago.
“Many people know of Beaujolais,” he said, “but they don’t know it deeply; the vines, the people and the wines.”

As Lameyse continued, he thought the Explorer programme was “perfect for Beaujolais” and a real chance for producers of all stripes to “stand in front of international buyers” hailing from countries as diverse as Denmark, Canada, Ireland, the US, UK, Brail, Columbia, Norway, Korea and Singapore.