Simon McMurtrie, chief executive of Direct Wines, opened Wine Vision 2014 with a clarion call to the global wine industry to do all it can to get people to not only spend more on wine, but to buy a wider selection of wines.
In his role as chairman of Wine Vision 2014 McMurtrie pointed to the headline fact in the UK that 85% of wine is sold below £8 a bottle.
But he also pointed to the recent views of wine luminaries such as Jancis Robinson MW and Hugh Johnson who have said respectively that we are living in a "golden age of wine" and "an age of divergence". If everyone attending Wine Vision can do their part in making the most of this opportunity and encourage their customers to spend more on wine then the industry will be in a far more healthy position.
He said Wine Vision provided a unique position for people right across the global wine industry to come together and not only listen to the talks and debates but play their part, share experiences and go away with ideas they can implement in their own businesses.