Archived interviews

Adriano VIVAS, NOW - ARGENTINA / Millésime BIO 2020 exhibitor

We were very satisfied with our first experience. We met a lot of importers that were actively looking for new organic wines.

Marcello VAONA, Novaia - ITALY / Millésime BIO 2020 exhibitor

I already believed that Millésime BIO was one of the major fairs for organic wines and since my participation to it I have been sure of it. My objective was both meeting new customers and also meeting my current customers, and a lot of them came. I was very satisfied with the contacts I had.

Romain BOUCHARD, Domaine de l'Enclos - FRANCE / Millésime BIO 2020 exhibitor

You participated to Millésime BIO for the first time in 2020. What led you to take part to this fair?

Millésime BIO 2020 was a very important meeting for us because we are in a development phase with many departements in France and many export countries where we are still not represented. And it's a big international trade fair that is very well suited to our strategy.

Are you satisfied with your participation?

Yes very satisfied, we had 67 visitors from 14 different countries over the 3 days, we had no downtime and yet we were 2 at the stand!

Can you share with us your greatest commercial success at the fair, your best memory?

Thanks to the fair, we have 5 new important export partners (Denmark, Netherlands, Quebec, Luxembourg, Norway) who have already placed orders. In France, we have about 10 new customers, wine merchants, wholesalers, agents, restaurants. If we have to remember one commercial success, I would say the SAQ, the Quebec monopoly is very courted but the buyer came to our stand and liked our wines very much and now we are working together on 2 references!

Dominik BRUN, Giannikos Winery - GREECE / Millésime BIO 2020 exhibitor

You participated to Millésime BIO 6 times. What are the elements that explain this loyalty to the fair?

We consider Millésime BIO as the best organic wine fair for international buyers. We found many of our partners at Millésime BIO and it is a booked date in our calendar. We like the concept of the fair with everyone having the same booth. That’s why we always come back to show our newest vintages.

Can you share with us your greatest business success at the fair, your best memory?

We found many of our clients at the fair and created success stories together but the best memories are the contacts with other organic wine producers from other countries. Over the years we have become friends with them and we exchange ideas and experiences and we meet every year again the Millésime BIO. This international exchange is very important for us.

Didier BONNEFONT, Auchan - FRANCE / Millésime BIO 2019 Visitor

Why did you choose to come? What was your objective: to source wines? To better understand the market and the offer?

I came to find new estates, to meet the current partners and also to see what was on offer in the vineyards other than those I'm in charge of.

What do you think of the Millésime BIO fair?

Millésime BIO is a pleasant and accessible fair that allows...

Herman STROBBE, Bio Planet - BELGIUM / Millésime BIO 2019 Visitor

What do you think of the Millésime BIO fair?

It is the most important fair concerning organic wines.

What are its strengths? What do you enjoy most?

You know that all wines are organic, so there is no loss of time with the supplier on this matter. I also like that all suppliers are treated the same way with the same table space.

Philippe Cilia, Invino - FRANCE / Millésime BIO 2019 visitor

How long have you been coming to Millésime BIO?

Since 2010 we have regularly been coming to Millésime BIO, either individually or in groups of 2 depending on our availability. In the previous years, we went to other fairs [...] but in 2019, we decided to focus our efforts on Millésime BIO. [...] We found many interesting wines and made many contacts for the future.

We are our clients' first advisors and what motivates us in the first place is "the quest for the good" - organic or not. Fortunately, thanks to our experience and trade shows like yours, we are increasingly able to reconcile pleasure, quality, price and health.

Daisuke TANAKA, Dean&Deluca - JAPAN /Millésime BIO 2019 visitor

What do you think of the Millésime BIO fair?

It is an excellent fair! One of my favourites! I like that we are able to talk with the winemaker directly.

What did you think of the self-service tasting area? the Challenge Millésime BIO area?

Both the self-service tasting area and the Challenge Millésime BIO area are very efficient to choose the wines.

Réjane Pouzoulas, Domaine Wilfried - FRANCE / Millésime BIO 2019 exhibitor

Could you briefly present us the Domaine Wilfried and your function within it?

My brother and I (Réjane and Wilfried Pouzoulas) are the 4th generation of a family estate located in the town of Rasteau ( 84110) in the southern Rhône. We have been working together on the estate for twenty years and produce AOC Rasteau, AOC Cairanne, Côtes du Rhône and vin de France.

I mainly take care of the administration and marketing, my brother takes care of the vineyard part. Together we take care of the grape harvest, vinification and bottling. We are very complementary!

Who are your main customers?

Wine merchants and restaurant owners in France as well as international importers.

Can you tell us how your sales are distributed among the different channels?

A small part of our AOC Rasteau production is sold to merchants.

You are coming to Millésime BIO in 2020 for the eighth time, your estate has been certified in Organic Agriculture since the 2012 vintage. What made you decide to take the plunge?

The commitment to Organic Agriculture was quite obvious to us. This was done naturally by making things official with Ecocert in 2008. We had been working since the early 2000s without herbicides and insecticides, our commitment was and still is in line with our state of mind and our way of life. Certification was necessary for transparency with the consumer.

What do you think of the Millésime BIO fair compared to others?

The Millésime BIO exhibition is an essential event. It's very professional and very well organised. The visitor base is of high quality, it is the opportunity to meet our current customers for the French and foreign markets as well as new people.

What is your objective: Better understand the market and the offer? What are your commercial expectations?

The show allows us to clearly see and evaluate the market situation according to its demand.

On the commercial side, we are waiting to see our current customers in order to present the new vintage to them.

We also hope to meet new importers in markets where we are not yet.

What are your expectations regarding the "Salon 4.0" option, the digital tool that will be made available for the first time at the fair?

We look forward to discovering this new tool! It is a very good initiative.

A few words about the 2019 vintage?

The year 2019 is a very nice vintage. The harvest was healthy and very satisfactory. It will make fruit-oriented wine with a beautiful aromatic expression. It's a pleasant vintage!

Presentation of the company:

Date of creation: 1920
Production volume hL/bottles: 45,000 bottles
Appellations: AOC RASTEAU, AOC CAIRANNE, Côtes du Rhône, Vin de France
Distribution channels and national/export market share: 75% in France and 25% for export
Number of employees: 3 employees
Website: www.domainewilfried.com
Instagram: #domainewilfried

Millésime BIO 2015

Film 1
With Antoine Durrbach, Abbaye Sainte Marie de Pierredon (France) ; Séverine Bourrier, Château de l'Ou (France), Sudvinbio boardmember ; Ming Young Yoo, Avecwine (South Korea) ; Katia Nussbaum, San Polino (Itlay) ; Alvaro de Nieves Toledo, Bodegas Enguera (Spain).

Film 2
With Krysa Kazaki, Giannikos Winery (Greece) ; Gauthier Mazet, Apollo Fine WIne & Spirits (USA) ; Mireia Prim, Miguel Torres (Spain); Pierre Larmandier, Champagne Larmandier-Bernier (France) ; Alwin Jurtschitsch, Jurtschitsch Sonnhof (Austria) ; Antoine Guccione, Valdibella (Italy).

Film 3
With German wine buyer Marko Schumacher (Weinselection), and exhibitors Marc Bournazeau (Vina Las Ninas, Chile) and Eric Remlinger (Badet Clément, France).

Film 4
With exhibitors Franz Weninger (Weingut Weininger, Austria), Claudie Achard (Domaine Achard-Vincent, France), Fabien Moreau (Domaine Christian Moreau, France) and buyer Christopher Heitkämper (Weingalerie am Schloss, Germany).

Film 5
With exhibitors Massimiliana Spino (Castello di Tassarolo, Italie), Alex Parker (London & Scottish, UK), Magali Combard (Domaine Saint-André de Figuière, France), Michel Allien (Château Dudon, France), and French MEP Eric Andrieu.

Challenge Millésime BIO 2015 (8th edition)

Watch the film

Millésime BIO 2014

Film 1 with:

Thierry Duchenne, director of Sudvinbio (organiser)
Matej Korenika, Korenika Moskon estate (Slovenia), exhibitor
Samuel Chevalier, Canadian sommelier at Le Filet restaurant (visitor)
Patrick Guiraud, vintner and and president of Sudvinbio and the fair
Vincent Colpaert, Clos Henri estate (New Zealand), exhibitor

Film 2 with:

Elisabeth Mercier, head of the French national "Agence Bio"
Rosemary George (MW), a British journalist visiting the show
Jean Gardies, organic wine producer and exhibitor at Millesime Bio

Film 3 with:

Featuring Blake Gray, American blogger (The Gray Report), elected "World Best Online Wine Writer" for 2013
Etienne Sipp from Louis Sipp Estate (Alsace, exhibitor)
Franz Weninger from Weninger estate (Hungary, exhibitor)

Film 4

With the following exhibitors:
Jean-Pierre Frick, Domaine Pierre Frick (Alsace)
Fredericke Roll, Weingut Gustavshof (Rheinhessen, Germany), Gold Medal Special Mention award winner at "Challenge Millésime Bio" 2014 contest
Marie-Agnès Barou, Domaine Barou (Rhône), Gold Medal Special Mention award winner at "Challenge Millésime Bio" 2014 contest
And visitors:
Jimm Budd, journaliste britannique et auteur vin / British wine journalist and writer
Per Runhammar, journaliste et blogueur suédois / Swedish journalist and blogger

Film 5

Featuring the following exhibitors:
Roberto Izquierdo, La Bodega de Pinoso (Spain)
Dafina Atanasova, Orbelus Organic Wines (Bulgaria)
Gérard Cuisset, Château les Miaudoux (France, winner of a Special Mention Gold Medal at "Challenge Millésime Bio" 2014)
And visitors:
Henrik Norrhede, Albert & Lily Ab, Importateur/importer (Suède/Sweden)
Bin Xu, Importateur/importer (Chine/China)

Film 6

With the following exhibitors:
François Meyer, Domaine Eugène Meyer (Alsace)
André Stentz, Domaine André Stentz (Alsace)
Marc Bournazeau, Domaine Terra Remota (Espagne)
And visitors:
Eric Andrieu, Député européen
Yann Chinchard, Grenache, Syrah and Co (France)

Challenge Millésime BIO 2014

Meet the president of the jury! F. Sommier is in charge of the wine list for the Georges Blanc gourmet restaurants group. He also won the "Meilleur Ouvrier de France" title for sommeliers in 2007.
Watch the film

Members of the jury : in this video, you can watch interviews of jury members talking of the wines they tasted, an interview of Thierry Duchenne, director of Sudvinbio about the contest and Millesime BIO 2014 fair, and one of Thierry Julien, winegrower and Sudvinbio board member.
Watch the film