The Future of Fine Wine: Helsinki 2024
Rethinking Excellence: From Craftsmanship to Distribution
Monday 9th September 2024,
In-Person, Restaurant Pastis, Helsinki, Finland
1pm – 5.30pm
Organised by Areni Global and hosted by Samuil Angelov (three times best sommelier of Finland), this half-day summit combines inspiring presentations, panel conversations and wine tasting.
Iconic and forward-thinking fine wine producers will engage in conversation with journalists, academics and industry leaders, with the aim to forge a collective vision for the future of fine wine in Northern Europe, and to create thought-provoking and insightful conversations for both attendees and the larger fine wine community.
You can read the conference summary HERE.
Programme:
Session One: Rethinking Fine Wine: Defining Fine Wine and its Responsibilities to Protect its Future
Presented by Pauline Vicard, Executive Director, Areni Global
What is fine wine? And why defining it matters?
In this session, ARENI will present some exclusive insights from the fourth edition of its Define Fine Wine Whitepaper and explore what greatness means — and how this idea is evolving in the world of wine.
Main themes to be addressed:
- How is the concept of “fine wine” understood by trade and consumers?
- What attributes does a wine needs to be considered “fine”?
- Is fine wine different than luxury wine, or classics?
- Why does delving into these nuances matter for our industry?
- What is the role of the wine trade in creating fine wine’s status?
Session Two: From Vision to Climate Change: Rethinking Excellence in Viticulture
Panel conversation moderated by Pauline Vicard, with Mafalda Guedes, Mathieu Jullien and Heidi Makinen MW
What does excellence in viticulture means today?
Fine wine is, amongst many things, an expression of time. These wines express the vision of their winemakers and/or owners, who only get one chance a year to turn this vision into tangible reality and they need to do so at consistently high level of quality. But in the last few decades, these visions have been challenged by climate change, and inconsistency in weather patterns is now the norm. Amongst these uncertainties, how can top wineries build long-lasting visions and think long term?
Main themes to be addressed:
- How are top wineries envisioning the future of wine production?
- What is needed to ensure this future?
- Are the wineries’ vision aligned with what distribution needs?
About Mafalda Guedes
Mafalda Guedes is Sogrape’s Corporate Brand Manager and supports her uncle Fernando, at the helm of the leading Portuguese family-owned wine company – encompassing 1,600 hectares of vineyards in Portugal, Spain, Chile, Argentina and New Zealand. She is also responsible for the Group’s Global Sustainability Approach, inspired by the company’s purpose of bringing friendship and happiness to everyone they engage with.
About Mathieu Jullien
Mathieu Jullien is leading Vins d’exception, the entity that unites the wine estates owned by the LVMH Group: Domaine des Lambrays in Burgundy, Château d’Yquem and Château Cheval Blanc in Bordeaux, and Colgin Cellars in California.
About Heidi Makinen MW
Heidi Mäkinen MW is Portfolio Manager and Partner of Viinitie one of Finland’s leading importers. In addition to her daily job, Heidi teaches WSET at all levels, judges at various wine-related competitions, does wine consulting, and gives presentations on wine around the world.
Session Three: The Future of Fine Wine Distribution
Panel conversation moderated by Felicity Carter, with Arnt Egil Nordlien, Krister Bengtsson and Raimonds Tomsons
As fine wine and artisanal wines become more globally sought after, there is competition to access them. How will the wine trade respond?
Main themes to be addressed:
- What is the strategy of the monopolies and how do they ensure fairness?
- How do they see their role (as importers/distributors/retailers/influencers) influence the future of fine wine? What projects are they working on that have the potential to influence their market and beyond?
- How are routes to market changing, and how can wineries innovate in terms of distribution? How can retailers and somms innovate in building wine lists?
- What does data tell us about the latest trends in restaurants and wine bars across the world?
- How will restaurants and monopolies handle scarcity, as the top wines become more inaccessible and restaurants face more theft?
About Felicity Carter
Felicity Carter is Editorial Director of ARENI Global, and also writes for numerous wine publications. A noted speaker, she has given keynote addresses at top industry conferences in Hong Kong, New York, Sydney, London, and Verona, among others.
About Arnt Egil Nordlien
Arnt Egil Nordlien is the Product Manager Fine Wine & Auctions at Vinmonopolet, Norway’s alcohol monopoly, a role he has held since 2013.
About Krister Bengtsson
Krister Bengtsson is a Swedish journalist and entrepreneur with a background in both the media and wine industries. In 2017, he founded Star Wine List with the idea to guide wine lovers to find great wine bars and wine restaurants
About Raimonds Tomsons
Raimonds Tomsons was named ASI Best Sommelier of the World in February 2023. Raimonds is the wine director of the importing company “Barents Wine Collectors” in Riga, Latvia. On top of this activity, Raimonds also is the board member at the Latvian Sommelier Association and owner of Ltd. Raimonds Tomsons Wine Consulting.
Session Four: New Consumers, New Narratives
Moderated by Pauline Vicard, with Honore Comfort, Taina Vilkuna MW, Sören Polonius
For the past six years, the OIV has reported a global decline in wine consumption. In the last 12 months, there has been a steady growth in articles charting this decline. Reasons given for the drop include the inability of the wine trade to find new ways to attract new audiences; the expansion of other beverage categories; and the growing embrace of health.
From producers to distributors, what can the fine wine world do to address this challenge?
Main Themes to be addressed:
- What sets young(er) consumers apart from their elders when it comes to (fine) wine consumption?
- Do we have to totally change the way we look at communication to engage with new consumers? How? Why?
- What does the wine trade need to know about communicating with a new group of consumers? What messages resonate — and which ones need to be abandoned?
- Is there a difference in the way fine and artisanal wine needs to communicate itself, versus the general wine category? Or is this counterproductive?
About Honore Comfort
Honore Comfort is vice president of international marketing at the California Wine Institute, the premier public policy advocacy association of California wineries. The Wine Institute is the voice for California wine, representing nearly 1,000 wineries and affiliated businesses.
About Taina Vilkuna MW
Taina Vilkuna MW is Product Communications Manager for Alko Oy, Finland’s alcohol monopoly, a role that includes media relations, planning staff training and lecturing on wine.
About Sören Polonius
Sören Polonius is the wine director for the Adam & Albin Group, one of the major hospitality group in Sweden. Additionally, Sören is the ASI (International Sommeliers Association) Education Committee Director and leads all of the ASI bootcamps across the world.
Conclusion: Looking Ahead
4.45-5pm: By Essi Avellan MW
About Essi Avellan MW
Essi Avellan is Finland’s first Master of Wine. A globally renowned Champagne and sparkling specialist, she is the author of several wine books and the organiser of Grand Champagne Helsinki.
With Gratitude to Our Host and Partners
