BIVB becomes WSET patron

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 09 January, 2020

Educator to the wine industry, The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), has new backing in the form of Burgundy’s official wine board.

The WSET’s Corporate Patrons programme was set up by the London-based institution to help fund and support its role as growing educator of wine around the world.

The latest to join is the Bourgogne Wine Board, also known as the BIVB, which has as become an official patron at bronze level.

According to the WSET’s website, corporate patrons receive a range of benefits, including discounts on course materials, free postings on jobs board and recognition across events and publications in exchange for supporting the work of the WSET.

For bronze patrons, this includes helping to develop its courses and qualifications – including the ones online – and the professional membership body for graduates.

Ian Harris, WSET chief executive, said: “We’re honoured to welcome such a prestigious generic body as the Bourgogne Wine Board to our growing international Corporate Patrons network. Bourgogne is a hugely influential region in the world of wine, and we look forward to working with them and supporting each other in achieving our educational goals.”

Anne Moreau, co-president of the communications commission for the BIVB, added: “We have always placed education first in our global communications, especially in export markets. We believe that education is about sharing the values of conviviality and friendship, which are so deeply rooted in our region, as much as information – and this is what motivated us to become a WSET corporate patron. We look forward to developing our programme together and sharing our passion for Bourgogne wines with the WSET community.”

The BIVB joins the likes of Enotria & Coe, Symington Family Estates and Berry Bros. & Rudd as an official bronze patron of the WSET.

Silver patrons span from Concha y Toro to Treasury Wine Estates, while gold includes M&S, Accolade Wines, Pernod Ricard and Diageo.

The BIVB meanwhile represents the interests of Bourgogne winegrowers and merchants and helps present their wines to the world.

Burgundy currently spans 29,400 ha of land under vine. This represents only 0.6% of the world's wine production, but still adds up to 186.5 million bottles.

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