Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/221505
ANIVIN DE FRANCE in New York City by Lana Bortolot Importers Keith Lacewell and Corky Long of L&L Imports/Arkansas, with ANIVIN DE FRANCE President Bruno Kessler (center). L&L Imports "L'original French Kiss, a Vin de France Cabernet Sauvignon, shows a new generation of wine labels with French savoir faire. Bruno Kessler is also its winemaker. insists Valérie Pajotin, Managing Director of ANIVIN DE FRANCE. "Grow it the way you want: any varietal from any part of France. But the quality has to be there." Bringing value wines to market is key. "The prices generally range from $9 to $12," points out Pajotin, "but there are some wines that are selling for $40 or more." Targeting mass-market sales is not what the French organization has in mind. ANIVIN DE FRANCE President Bruno Kessler remarks, "We don't want to be the cheapest; we want to bring the qualities that French wines are known for: quality and finesse. After all, we've been making wines for centuries. France as a country, with Vin de France, is a brand. Each bottle reflects the country, varietal(s) and a vintage. With Vin de France, there is trust and transparency: easy and reliable." Vin de France Facts: n Vin de France now represents 25% of French wine exports. n Sales of Vin de France have more than quadrupled in three years. n The U.S. market only represents 4% of the market share abroad, but volume more than tripled from 2011 to 2012 in this country. n Number of Vin de France producers: 756 recorded members from every growing region in the country. In a city where excess is the norm, the "less is more" promise of Vin de France wines will lighten the hearts of New Yorkers who love the taste of French wines, but not the dent they can make in their monthly budget. "We can show the diversity of France at approachable prices, said ANIVIN " DE FRANCE President Bruno Kessler, who says it presents a "new world of French marketing" with competitive pricing and high-visibility packaging. Looking at the success of non-vintage bag-in-box brands (some 7 million .3 liters shipped to the U.S. last year), Kessler's group sees potential to expand the offerings now that the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau says they can include vintage year. New York State ranks number one in its French table wine consumption, with more than a million nine-liter cases according to information from UBIFRANCE, the French Trade Office. The new classification will ease winebuying with messaging that Kessler says is both "classy and easy to understand with a capacity to be adapted for each palate. Managing Director Valérie " Pajotin notes, there's also built-in advantage: "We don't have to explain to anyone where France is and that we make wine. " The key advantage is that vintners free to create new expressions of wine by blending grapes from different regions, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic, providing wine drinkers broader range of quality wines from France to taste. Further, vintners can blend local varieties such as Colombard with international grapes like Sauvignon or Chardonnay, opening the gateway for consumers Tussock Jumper, a Vin de France to try wines with unfamiliar grapes. wine imported by Tri-Vin Imports of Relaxation of the rules will also allow Mt. Vernon, NY, features a varietal more development of novelty brands Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The that evoke a lifestyle or emotion (think wines are featured in Whole Foods Cupcake or Ménage a Trois wines). Midwest and East Coast this winter. Patisserie du Vin, the French-American "With a French origin, these wines joint venture, is the first such concept have automatic cachet," says brand à la française. importer Marc Oliveira, who works It's not just the marketers, however, with 144 distributors in 42 states. who are enthusiastic: even producers "The U.S. market is varietal driven in established regions welcome the and this modern package is a plus." infusion. "I am very happy about the wine revolution in France. For us it's like the 21st century starts now, said " Thierry Coste, president of the Cooperative Les Vignerons de Florensac in Languedoc-Roussillon. "We will track to ensure these are wines of origin and will have third-party control of that, says Kessler. "It will be an open and transparent system similar to Chile, " Australia and California. You can call it a New World twist on an Old World concept. " "This is a historic moment in French wines; it's a new paradigm for us, said " Bertrand Girard, who heads Val d'Orbieu, also in Languedoc-Roussillon. "We have lost ground totally with value wines. Now we have a new weapon for changing consumers' minds. " 58 / the tasting panel / december 2013 TP1213_034-63.indd 58 11/23/13 8:27 PM