The 12 February 2024 – Vinexposium Business Awards recognise the highest performing and most sustainable initiatives in the wine and spirits industry. Entries for 2024 were judged by a panel of international professionals, and results were announced at a packed awards ceremony in Paris on Sunday, the 11th of February, ahead of the official opening of Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris 2024.
The BEST NEW BUSINESS SOLUTION V D’OR rewards a new business solution – service, tool, or digital offering – which disrupts the market and will develop the sale of wines or spirits. The shortlist was:
- ecoSPIRITS
- Grape-NFT by Spuro
- Tastee by Winespace
- Wine in Block
The winner is Tastee by Winespace (France).
With wine consumption declining in almost every single country, it’s never been more important to attract and gently guide new consumers in the world of wine. The judges felt that Tastee by WineSpace could be a very useful tool in that respect because of “the interaction it offers with consumers and the way it makes it easier long term for consumers who don’t know about wines to make their choices.’’
The BEST ECO-FRIENDLY MARKET LAUNCH V D’OR rewards innovative, eco-friendly initiatives surrounding the market launch of a product: packaging, merchandising, retail, etc. The shortlist was:
- Mallard Point
- Bodegas Peñascal
- Le Philtre
- When in Rome Sekko wine
The winner is Mallard Point (UK).
The judges were impressed with the bold and innovative aluminium packaging of the Mallard Point range and their ideology of reuse rather than recycle. Judges also liked the fact that Mallard Point is a family-owned business.
The BEST JOINT INITIATIVE V D’OR rewards the initiatives of a group of actors within the wines and spirits industry in promoting a collective project. The shortlist was:
- Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program by WWF Portugal and Wines of Alentejo
- REDWine by Avipe
- InterLoire Climate toolkit by InterLoire
- vitiREV by La Région Nouvelle Aquitaine
The winner is Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program by WWF Portugal and Wines of Alentejo (Portugal).
The judges were full of praise for Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program. “They’re working as a group within a community and a region, they promote biodiversity and they’re working with other organisations,’’ said one of the judges. “They are very detail orientated, very balance and check and it shows in their entry,’’ said another. “They are the proof that collaborative work has results. They are an amazing project with proven results. Every single producer you talk to in Alentejo, who is part of the programme, will tell you wonderful things about Wines of Alentejo,’ said a third.
The BEST BRAND EXPERIENCE V D’OR rewards the marketing strategy implemented by an actor within the sector with the goal of offering the consumer a memorable experience. The shortlist was:
- Creation Wines
- Second Winery
The winner is Creation Wines (South Africa).
The judges were hugely impressed with the sensory and haptic experience created by Creation Wines. ‘’Everything about Creation Wines is about the human story and emotion. A proper wine experience is about emotion’, said one of the judges. ‘’It definitely has the WOW effect,’’ said another one. The fact it sells local products was a bonus point.
BEST HERITAGE INITIATIVE rewards initiatives which allow the sharing of expertise, a skill or a process. The shortlist was:
- The Old Vine Registry by The Old Wine Conference
- PORVID
- VIGNO by Vignadores del Carignan
- Bernard Magrez Start-up Win
The winner is The Old Vine Registry by The Old Wine Conference (UK and USA).
This was a hotly debated category with an impressive shortlist. Ultimately The Old Vine Conference won the day as an “international, global and beautiful project’’ with “tremendous value’’, in the words of the judges. “If we go back to the roots of the wine environment, it is critical to preserve the genetic diversity and the cultural heritage promoted by The Old Vine Conference,’’ they said.
The judges also decided to award ‘Coups de Coeur’ to VIGNO (Chile) and REDWine by Avipe (Portugal), two smaller initiatives which hugely impressed them.
“The V d’Or awards are a solid expression of our commitment to a sustainable and responsible wine industry, a symbol of excellence and of the preservation of our terroir for future generations,” says Vinexposium CEO, Rodolphe Lameyse.
“The wine world is full of strong personalities who express themselves constantly through ambitious initiatives and projects. We have designed the V d’Or awards to reward their energy and enthusiasm,” says Michel Chapoutier, Chairman of the V d’Or Committee.
For more information, visit https://www.vinexposium.com/
About the V d’Or
The competition is free to enter and open to wine and spirits producers, importers and retailers of all sizes, generic bodies, communication agencies and other third-party suppliers. Entrants do not have to exhibit at one of Vinexposium’s events to be eligible.
About VINEXPOSIUM
Vinexposium offers a cohesive focal point for every strand of the wine and spirits industry by designing a variety of relevant event formats, all year round and across the globe. By bringing together exhibitors and visitors at nearly 10 events a year, and its community every day of the year at vinexposium365.com, Vinexposium is the industry’s ally, geared to developing its sales reach. Vinexposium, creating momentum.
