VinExpo is on !
Today I will be making my way to the edge of Bordeaux to get my first taste of the 2007 VinExpo. In case VinExpo needs an introduction - it is the largest annual wine exposition in the world, located in either Bordeaux or New York (or most recently Chicago) in alternating years. For professionals only, it’s where domaines sell thousands of cases at a time rather than dozens of bottles; a meeting of producers, sellers, negociants and journalists. This year’s VinExpo in France has gone high-tech, with an e-business session and wifi access throughout the enormous conference halls (probably prohibitively expensive but we’ll see). A group of wine bloggers have even initiated a (very web 2.0) collective blog, with VinExpo organizers’ encouragement. You can check out this blog to get a range of first-hand perspectives on the daily goings-on at the Expo.
My previous and only VinExpo was during the heat wave of 2003. The air conditioning in one of the large halls was broken and I was getting over a cold; making far from ideal tasting conditions. Nonetheless the range and selection of wines available to taste was stunning and I felt like a kid in a candy store - all of these wines to taste?! for free?! I hardly knew where to start. Now, 4 years later, I feel a little more comfortable with my knowledge of the French wines and have more of a context in which to fit my tasting experiences. Of course it won’t hurt that I am in great health and the temperatures are much more civlized. This time I also know a lot more people in the French wine industry so I will be taking advantage of the dense concentration of wine professionals to catch up and meet in person some virtual friends.
This afternoon I will be having coffee with Mélanie Pfister whose family owns Domaine Pfister in Alsace, near Strasbourg. I first met Mélanie when she was doing an internship in Spring 2006 at Craggy Range Winery in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. Turns out that we had worked at neighbouring wineries during the 2005 harvest - she was at Cheval Blance while I was working right nearby at Beauséjour-Bécot. Mélanie did her Diplôme d’Oenologie at the Univeristy of Dijon in Burgundy, travelled to gain experience in a wide variety of regions and has now returned to the family winery to maximize the potential of her family’s property. Traditionally they have sold the vast majority of their wines to the local co-operative (as most domaines do in Alsace) but Mélanie is pushing for them to bottle more and more of their
wines separately under their own label. I have yet to taste any of these wines (Mélanie!) but have high expectations bases on Mélanie’s intensity, self-discipline and rigour.