Vinexposium launches new Golden V awards for 2024

Vinexposium has announced that the first edition of its Golden V awards — designed to recognise ambitious and responsible business initiatives in the wine and spirits industry — will take place during the next Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris in 2024.

Six permanent awards are being launched by the event organiser, based on criteria surrounding the corporate social responsibility of businesses in the wine and spirits sector. Three special awards will spotlight the men and women who have made a significant contribution to the industry, and Vinexposium has said that both current and future impact will be considered in picking the winners.

Rodolphe Lameyse, group CEO of Vinexposium, announced the awards at this year’s Wine Paris Vinexpo Paris show, which took place on 13-15 February.

“There are many awards about the best wine or the best winemaker, but we are more focused on rewarding the most ambitious sustainable business initiatives at an international level,” he told press during the show.

Entries will be judged by a panel of “internationally-recognised” industry members, according to its organisers. Each will represent a key sub-category within the sector, including production, marketing, distribution or sustainable development. The Golden V trophies will be given to the winners by the jury during Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris 2024: the design of which will be revealed in summer 2023.

The Vinexpo Paris trade show saw a 41% spike in visitor numbers on its opening day, but Vinexposium CEO Rodolphe Lameyse was keen to stress that size isn’t the only thing that matters.

Speaking to the drinks business on day two of the trade show, Lameyse said: “If I want to be the biggest or the largest [trade show] I know what I can do, but I want to be the most efficient and the most inclusive.”

He said: “To be honest, I don’t think I’m interested by competition. We have our own path, our own journey and our own agenda.” Read more on that here.