V I N E E X P E C TAT I O N S
EN PRIMEUR GOES DIGITAL As En Primeur 2020 drew to a close, epicure looks back over the past two tumultuous years and their impact on Bordeaux’s centuries-old selling system. BY NIMMI MALHOTRA Cult Wines en primeur 2020 tasting in Hong Kong
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n spring every year, over 6000 wine critics, journalists, sommeliers, wine merchants and distributors flock to Bordeaux, the French wine capital, to taste the new wines of the year past. A string of hedonistic days follows – multiple tastings at multiple chateaux, harried lunches and leisurely dinners and a buzz unrivalled by any other experience in the wine world. The Bordeaux En Primeur (EP) week is the biggest event on the wine calendar. Its purpose, much like Paris fashion week, is to introduce the new Bordeaux wines to the world, take a temperature check on the new vintage and generate millions of dollars in sales before summer kicks in.
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During the last two pandemic-influenced years, En Primeur faced cancellation and was forced to reinvent. It morphed into a new hybrid format with digital technologies, WIT (wine in tube) packaging and sharp logistics.
EN PRIMEUR EXPLAINED It is worth remembering that one cannot buy Bordeaux wines directly from the chateaux. A multi-tiered system was put in place in the 18th century to facilitate sales. The chateaux sell the wines to wholesalers known as negociants. The negociants sell to merchants like Berry Bros and Corney & Barrow, who have direct access to the
