Paris has long been known as the City of Light and the City of Love. Now, it might also lay claim to the title “City of Wine.” From the 11th through 13th of February, 26,700 wine professionals were drawn to the capital city for the inaugural Wine Paris event. Approximately 2,000 exhibitors from France and 24 other countries were there to introduce their 2018 vintage to buyers, journalists, and other winemakers. Among those in attendance were William Manfull, my husband and Provence WineZine photographer, and me.\

Why a new show?

Wine Paris was an ambitious effort to bring together two separate trade fairs: Vinisud, representing wines from the Mediterranean, and VinoVision Paris, representing wines from the cooler climates in France. Vinisud, which has almost always met in Montpellier, was established in 1994 by the marketing boards in the South of France, comprising the wine regions of Corsica, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, the Rhône Valley, and the Southwest. VinoVision Paris was created more recently, in 2017, by the marketing boards of the Loire Valley, Central Loire, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Alsace, and the Champagne Winegrowers’ Organization SGV and had held two trade shows... [...]