Burgundy winemakers elect duo of presidents

By Rob Brown

Published: 29 January, 2018

Two stalwarts of the French wine industry have been elected as co-presidents of the BVIB, the Burgundy Wine Board.

Organic winemaker François Labet and Louis-Fabrice Latour, both from families with centuries of winemaking history between them, will oversee the promotion of the region’s wines and the development of key infrastructure projects over the next four years.

The BVIB will focus its communications on the lesser known Régionale and Village appellations in the coming year, said Labet, who will serve as president for the next two years before Latour takes over. “The value of our wines must profit the two components of the industry, within the heart of a united Bourgogne,” he said.

In the coming year architects and scenographers will be selected for the City of Wines tourism project, which will see three attractions open across the region in 2021.

The new incumbents will also oversee moves to encourage greater participation from the region’s growers and winemakers and the promotion of sustainable means of production, as well as the development of a digital database logging the region’s output.

Labet is also an advisor on external trade to the French Prime Minister, with a remit for helping to grow French wine exports around the world. His family has been making wine since 1492 and the business includes Domaine du Château de la Tour and the Domaine Pierre Labet. He converted his entire estate to organic production in 1992.

Latour heads up the Louis Latour Négoce business, which was founded in 1798. He graduated from Sciences Po in Paris in 1985 and joined the family business in 1989, and took over the running of the company from his father in 1999.

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