Vinexpo Daily 2020 Paris - Review Edition

I NEWS I
Wine from Lebanese
monks has great
potential in France
A wine produced by the Lebanese Maronite
Order was among the organic beverages
that were showcased at Vinexpo Paris.
The Vinexpo Academy session on Brexit
WSTA calls for "light-touch"
import regime after Brexit
The UK’s wine and spirits trade body will press the British government
to introduce a simplified certification system for wine imported from
Europe in January 2021, its overseas affairs director has said.
The Adyar brand, offering
a range of organic red,
white, rose, sweet and ice
wines, plus the traditional
Lebanese drink Arak,
exhibited in the WOW!
section as it looks to
increase sales in France.
The Lebanese Maronite
Order cultivates vines in
eight regions at altitudes
between 410 metres and
1600 metres.
Yara Haddad from Adyar
claims that even when
French or Spanish grapes
are used, the wine has
a character unique to
Lebanon, because of the
climate and soil, adding:
"This kind of wine has
great potential. We would
like to grow our business in
France. "
Most Adyar wines are
associated with a particular
monastery, although some
are the product of grapes
from more than one
The news was announced on 10 February at
Vinexpo, Paris, during the Vinexpo Academy
session on Brexit.
European and international affairs director
Simon Stannard announced that the Wine
and Spirit Trade Association would be
meeting with government officials from 17-
21 February, calling for a “light touch” shortterm
approach to certification after Brexit.
The European Union requires importers of
wines from other countries to complete a
VI1 certificate, requiring seven lab tests to
assess the alcohol strength and levels of
acidity and sulphur dioxide in the wine, and
ensure standard units of measurement are
accurate.
Stannard says the VI1 certificate isn't
favoured from a UK perspective, because it is
not a useful tool for enforcement purposes,
and the development of a new high-tech
system that can be accessed from vineyard
to point of retail should be pursued as a longterm
solution.
“But I think in the short term, there is the
option to have a simplified VI1 procedure,” he
says. “At the very least, we should, between
the UK and the EU, negotiate a simplified
procedure from the first of January next
year. Ideally, we would like to see something
that gets us from where we are now to where
we would like to be in future, with a sensible
transition.”
Stannard said he was “hopeful” that mutual
recognition for organic wine regulations
between the EU and the UK would be
achieved before the end of the year
The Adyar wines from Lebanon
4 • VINEXPO DAILY • THURSDAY 20 TH FEBRUARY 2020
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