France makes good on its large tasting ‘gamble’
France’s increasing regional complexity has made its tasting format something of an intermittent affair in recent times, with the country’s myriad interprofessional bodies usually heading up smaller regional tastings throughout the year.
This has changed since 2023, when Business France – the bureau dedicated to wine and food promotion – decided to launch its Vin format.
Now in its third year, the tasting returned last week via London’s Hyatt Regency hotel to showcase 36 producers spread across France’s flagship zones.
Burgundy, Bordeaux, Provence and Jura were all represented, among others, where once again the team re-introduced last year’s popular Wine Walks feature. Anne McHale MW picked up the baton this year, taking over from Jamie Goode in carrying out three guided tours of the tasting, where attendees were taken from table to table and introduced to a rotating selection of wines.
“Rather than focusing on [yet another] masterclass, where you’re inevitably isolated in a room, this engages people in novel way,” McHale explained after a busy doing the rounds with her wine flock trailing.
“At tastings, people tend to head one table and taste through the wines, but are unlikely to then go and compare those wines from somewhere else, tasting rosé from Provence and rosé for Bordeaux, for example. It gives people the confidence to introduce themselves to the producers and to then go back re-visit any wines they were particularly struck by. Plus, it removes the paradox of choice, which can be overwhelming.”
The tasting comes at a critical time for French wine in the UK, which is still smarting from the compounded stings of Covid, Brexit and inflation, while also facing off against various weather-related production difficulties at home.
The landscape for tasting has changed too. Last Thursday’s (16 January) event, dubbed Vin 25, is still a far cry from the larger format days of the mid 2000s, where 80 or so producers took centre stage.
This year’s event is more targeted, where it was ensured that each prospective producer was ready for the UK market, including having a strong pitch in English ready to go and relevant pricing structures pinned down.
The Wine Walks, which were described as a “vetted introduction” to France by Pauline Gautier, head of food and drink at Business France UK and Ireland (pictured), are therefore part of a coordinated push by the body to refresh the way it interacts with UK buyers.
Described as something of a “gamble”, the tasting has proved a success during its three-year run, with the format being underpinned by a “need to attract buyers by having the right mix of producers, both established up and coming from different appellations”, Gautier said.
She added: “The trade has been asking ‘when are you back with big French event?’ Luckily, French wines came out of Covid pretty well. There has been enthusiasm for what France can bring to the market as there are so many appellations and producers, both small and large.
“We took a gamble three years ago with the format where we thought, ‘it’s time. Let’s go back to a big French tasting’. A lot of French producers believe strongly in the UK market, even though it’s competitive. If there’s one place to be, it’s here, so we’ll continue to help them make in-roads.”
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