The French Pavilion is back at Vinexpo America with 62 wine & spirit producers & merchants ready to meet local professionals. With 50% more producers this year, the pavilion represents 23% of the show’s total exhibitors. To highlight the pavilion’s excellence, Business France is also organizing 2 exclusive tastings.
New York, February 15th – Following a successful first edition, Business France is bringing together an exciting French pavilion for the second time, now with 62 exhibitors, under the Taste France brand. Along with French wine regions, the pavilion embraces the show’s decision to provide a dedicated space for spirits at Drinks America, bringing 8 spirit brands to New York from March 9th-10th.
Representing almost a quarter of the entire show, the French pavilion is a testament to the determination of French wine and spirit makers to share their unique products and creations with North American partners. Along with the pavilion and as part of the Taste France initiative, Business France is showcasing the hidden gems of France with a wine selection, tasting commentary and Vinexpo Buzz session with Christie Canterbury, MW. As a preview before the show starts, professionals will be invited to an exclusive cocktail hour to sample the many flavors of French Caribbean spirits from Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Find the French pavilion at booth 600-818 (floor plan)
One Pavilion, Many Appellations: Discover the Best of French Wine & Spirits
For this second edition, the French pavilion will gather a wide array of AOCs from the most prominent wine regions of France, making it a mini expo for sourcing French wines. Here is a breakdown of the regions and number of exhibitors:
- Alsace – 3 producers
- Bordeaux – 9 producers
- Champagne – 4 producers
- Languedoc – 9 producers
- Loire Valley – 2 producers
- Provence – 5 producers
- Rhône Valley – 19 producers
- Roussillon – 3 producers
- Southwest – 3 producers
Out of the 62 producers present at the show, 27 use sustainable practices to create their wines: although Domaine Lombard is the only one following biodynamic principles, the pavilion counts no less than 16 producers offering 40+ organic wines and another 16 offering 90+ wines made with vines cultivated according to the Terra Vitis principles.
Among the wines and spirits presented, a few rare finds will raise the interest of the visitors: Egarri is bringing craft beer and cider, Distillerie du Perigord sent some Absinthe and a liqueur made with walnuts, and producers like Aubert & Mathieu or Vignobles Vellas are bringing their most original labels.
More information about the show and on our website or on the dedicated page on our Taste France wine & spirit digital platform.
Taste France: the Christy Canterbury, MW selection
To highlight the best France has to offer, Business France is collaborating with Christy Canterbury, Master of Wine, to underscore the exceptional caliber of the delegation. She conducted a blind-tasting of a wide range of products from the delegation, selecting and evaluating her top 28 wines and spirits.
“I loved blind tasting these wines and spirits as there were so many delicious discoveries,” said Christy Canterbury, MW. “It’s particularly exciting to see when a producer really delivers on multiple products. That’s clearly a winery or distillery that someone should be courting for importation to the USA! Even for a country as well-canvassed by importers as France is, there are always more delicious wines and spirits out there, whether they come from new producers, producers who haven’t focused on exporting here before or producers who want to change importers.”
Christy Canterbury, MW’s selection of top 28 wines and spirits along with tasting notes will be available to sample at booth 600-1 on-site at the pavilion. She will also be presenting a Vinexpo Buzz session on Wednesday, March 9th from 3:30 to 4pm titled “Master of Wine Christy Canterbury discusses sustainability in French wines”. This informal session will provide the opportunity for conversation and questions around sustainability in the French wine regions.
Consult the full Christy Canterbury, MW selection here.
French Caribbean: Caribbean Spirit Tasting Cocktail
Known mostly for its extensive wine regions, France also offers exciting and original spirit brands notably from its overseas territories. Trade professionals will have the opportunity to meet with the producers and sample Caribbean spirits both on the show and at an exclusive cocktail hour at the Broken Shaker on Tuesday, March 8th at 5:30 pm.
“Spirits from Guadeloupe and Martinique illustrate everything that resonates with the US consumer today: high quality, diversity of products, unique savoir-faire and rich history behind each bottle, with a pinch of exoticism… as well as unexpected spirits such as Martinican whisky aged in rum barrels!” says Manilay Saito, Business Unit Manager of Wine, Spirits, Beer and Ciders at Business France North America. “Spirits from the French Caribbean are yet to be discovered by US aficionados, who may be surprised to find how diverse and atypical they are.”
More information & tasting registration here.
About Taste France
Launched in 2020, Taste France is the label embodying the French gastronomy while promoting the whole agricultural and agri-food downstream ecosystem gathering a diversity of food-service professionals ranging from producers to suppliers. Taste France aims to unify all the players within the industry around common interests. As a showcase of the variety of the French cuisine, Taste France built itself onto the will to promote globally the extensive breadth of French products both for the professionals and the consumers. Through a wider accessibility, Taste France’s intention is to invite French cuisine to everyone’s daily meals while guaranteeing high food standards and quality. This label is before anything else reaffirming the founding values of the French food industry: excellence, responsibility, authenticity, sharing and innovation
- #TasteFrance @
TasteFrance_EN - https://twitter.com/
TasteFrance_EN - https://www.linkedin.com/
company/taste-france/
About Business France
Business France is the national agency supporting the international development of the French economy, responsible for fostering export growth by French businesses, as well as promoting and facilitating international investment in France. It promotes France’s companies, business image and nationwide attractiveness as an investment location, and also runs the VIE international internship program.
Business France has 1,500 personnel, both in France and in 55 countries throughout the world, who work with a network of partners.Since January 2019, as part of the reform of the state support system for exports, Business France has given private partners responsibility for supporting French SMEs and mid-size companies in the following markets: Belgium, Hungary, Morocco, Norway, the Philippines and Singapore.
For further information, please visit: www.businessfrance.fr
@businessfrance #BusinessFrance
