TRADE TALK Kobrand’s
TRADE TALK Kobrand’s Perspective PRESS CORNER How Vinexpo fairs have been important landmarks in Constance Savage’s career © Vinexpo - JB Nadeau With 20 years in the alcohol beverage industry, Constance Savage has a passion for wine and spirits, and her work spans the spheres of supply dynamics, sales-planning and marketing strategy-setting and execution. We asked her what the key reasons are for her attending Vinexpo… There is a noticeable tone and energy specific to each bi-annual Vinexpo event, a sense of what is happening “now” in the industry and a feeling, which is true in any case, of being, at that moment, at the centre of the industry. Walking up and down the aisles, you see faces that run from familiar to friendly – you feel that you have grown up with, and continue to YOU ARE INCREASINGLY PULLED BY ACQUAINTANCES AND CONTACTS SCATTERED ACROSS THE FAIR grow with these people, your associates in the happy business of wine and spirits. As your seniority in the industry grows, your pace changes. You approach Vinexpo in a more “efficient” way, while, at the same time, you are increasingly pulled by acquaintances and contacts scattered across the fair – friendships and acquaintances built over the course of years in the business. It is exciting, invigorating and exhausting, all at the same time. How do you evaluate the current state of the wine and spirits market in your country? The U.S. wine market continues to grow, from both overall and per-capita consumption standpoints. The great recession of 2008 – 2009 opened a lot of attitudes towards cheaper pricepoints and off-premise shopping habits, which have created a “new balance” in the industry. Certain price points are unachievable for all but the truly iconic labels. However, our consumer finally feels on solid ground from a personal financial perspective. We are fortunate that certain segments of our population are growing in affluence and in their curiosity and knowledge of fine wine. We have a huge “millennial” population who are expressing interest in wine and spirits earlier and more meaningfully than did any other generation. The future is bright in the U.S. market. What is your “secret” to a successful Vinexpo visit? Four practical tips: 1. Although I admit I cannot always achieve it – start planning your itinerary early, and try to get local cell phone Constance Savage VP Director of Supplier Relations, Kobrand Corporation numbers for your contacts to be able to use text in case you are running late. 2. Find a way to drink water as much as possible, at least 1-1 with wine. 3. Pay attention to stand locations, and to book appointments that are physically close together within the same period of time. 4.Try to keep one evening and one morning free of appointments. This is key for being able to make time for an important opportunity that might arise. Sarah Kemp Publishing Director, Decanter “MINERALITY IS TODAY’S NEW BUZZWORD” Thanks to a new partnership between Vinexpo and Decanter, a series of tastings and conferences are being organised by the publication at the show this year, not to mention the famed Decanter World Wine Awards. We asked publishing director Sarah Kemp to tell us what she is most looking forward to at Vinexpo this year… The opportunity to catch-up with so many top wineries without having to travel thousands of miles. Vinexpo is a great opportunity to discover wines from regions that you cannot personally visit as well as trying new vintages from established names. Which regions / varieties/ wine styles do you feel are gaining most in popularity in the UK and why? Wines with less oak and less alcohol are certainly finding favour. Consumers are very aware of alcohol levels. Minerality is today’s new buzzword. 8 VINEXPO DAILY / DAY 4 / WEDNESDAY 17 TH JUNE 2015
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Happy, Honoured and Humbled… The joy and the challenges of being named best sommelier of Americas Paz Levinson ASI & APAS Best Sommelier of Americas 2015 Paz Levinson was recently awarded best sommelier of Americas by Guillaume Deglise, CEO of Vinexpo. We asked her how she felt about this award… I feel really happy, honoured and humbled (the three H’s) for winning the best sommelier of Americas 2015. It’s a contest that I really liked since I heard about it in 2009, participated in 2012 and prepared for 2015. I think AS & APAS are making a wonderful contribution to the sommeliers of Americas, and that’s why I always looked forward to being in this contest. I prepared for it with enthusiasm and love. It wasn’t easy at all, and it was a lot of hard work at the same time. I was starting a new job and learning French. I was lucky to be working with Marco Pelletier from whom I learned a lot. I also trained with Jonathan Bauer-Monneret at Spring. Sharing and working with people is totally necessary. The fact that I’m sharing the award with ladies like Veronique Rivest and Elyse Lambert makes me thrilled. It was also very important to put Argentina in the title. What have been your biggest challenges in arriving at this achievement? The biggest challenge was trying to beat myself. I think many of our weaknesses are made up by ourselves and the best way to SINCE I STARTED LIVING IN FRANCE, I HAVE BEEN TRAPPED IN THE WORLD OF CHENIN BLANC grow is to know them and work on them. The challenge was to prepare the contest in English after preparing the contest of Argentina in Spanish, and meanwhile I was learning French… So many things to adapt and explore, coming back to the language. There is a language for the contest, there is a mother language for my thoughts and there is the language of the wine and work that I am learning. Do you have a favourite wine or region? I don’t have a favourite wine, region or grape variety; it’s a very hard question for me. I like so many wines, regions, styles and grapes. I love this diversity. I love not having ONE wine in the world. I am from Argentina and I have a special affection for Malbec. I love the floral side of this grape, the texture when it is well balanced with ageing, and the charming character that it can gain. Apart from that it always depends on the moment of drinking, or the situation, when preferring a wine. Ultimately, since I started living in France, I have been trapped in the world of Chenin Blanc. I think it is a grape that can give a lot of pleasure, can suit many styles, that is transparent to terroir and has lovely acidity and texture. I also like the austerity of the Cabernet Franc of the Loire Valley and how it ages. What is the most rewarding part of your job? The favourite part of my work is that I am always learning, I am always absorbing knowledge. It is an endless world for those who like to research and move to a next level. I love to learn and to teach. I love to communicate what I have learned. That’s why I love the contact with the client at the restaurant so much: we never know what questions the customer will ask. It is a little bit of improvising a class each time knowing exactly the level of depth that our answer must have. I love viticulture and studying it. I love to travel to the wine regions and meet the people behind each interesting project. vinexpodaily.com VINEXPO DAILY / DAY 4 / WEDNESDAY 17 TH JUNE 2015 9
