VinExpo 2020

After six years as a Cocktail Bandits, our work has taken us to countless conferences, expos and trade shows all over the United States. Most seem to follow a similar structure; rows and rows of 6 x 6 tables draped in brand tablecloths. Your tasting is led by a promo girl who knows less about the product than you. After the sample, you are handed a sticker or button, then on to the next booth; step and repeat. We were in search of a more engaging experience.

Upon receipt of our invitation to VinExpo Paris, we were immediately drawn by the enormous amounts of producers, winemakers, distillers and buyers who would be present. Another attraction was the addition of a section dedicated exclusively to international spirits. This year would be the first time VinExpo would include this specialty area complete with masterclasses led by international beverage professionals.

Speaking of first, 2020 would be the debut year that VinExpo was hosted in Paris and the first year Wine Paris and VinExpo co-hosted the event. This collaboration resulted in more participation from Paris area bars, restaurants and bartenders.  Not to mention, Paris has its own charms making VinExpo a perfect opportunity to explore France.

Entry into the conference was fairly straightforward as bi-lingual hostesses assisted with registration. As a large group of attendees descended upon Paris Expo des Versailles, the expo venue, you could feel the energy of the over 30 thousand ticket holders.

The first expo hall featured French wine and champagne. Regions from all of France presented their unique blends attributing nuance flavors not to anything from temperature to terrier. A standout was the Tavel Wine offering from the Rhone Valley. Their Rose had a distinctly rich red color that separated their juice from the other pale pink Roses prevalent in the United States. 

The amount of tasting booths was almost overwhelming. Each booth was designed to look like a custom bar or distillery tasting room. Every booth had a different look, different chairs, even different drinking vessels. The exhibitor created an experience like that of a customer in a restaurant.

We wandered through two Halls featuring international wines and liqueurs. We had the pleasure of seeing our good friends from the Italian Trade Commission, who hosted a huge section showcasing Italian wine producers. 

Be Spirited

The main reason for our attendance at VinExpo was to experience the new Spirit section. VinExpo devoted an entire hall to showcase international spirits. Brand owners and ambassadors from South American and Asian were present to share their unique products.

We sampled exotic and rare spirits from Austria and Portugal. Tasting booth not only showed pride in the product but also the country of origin. Sharing their culture through cocktails. A favorite was a Sentir Mezcal. This spirit is distilled in clay pots creating a more rounded agave flavor.

Not to be out done, the bartenders of Paris served cocktails from the aptly named ‘Infinite Bar’ that stretched the length of the entire expo hall. Each bar featured an area bartender serving a classic or original cocktail sponsored by a major brand. Way to support the local bar community.

We were excited to meet Parisian bar professionals and gauge the bar scene in this major city. The spirit area was so vast, that we could have spent each day of the three day conference in this section only and still not taste all the samples. Truly impressive showing from the international beverage community. Hopefully this section of VinExpo continues to grow as the conference grows.

3 Highlights of VinExpo

1. Moet Hennessy Lounge – these brands are always associated with luxury. Their installation was nothing less than excellent. Their suite featured 2 full bars serving the very best from the Moet Hennessy House. The elegantly decorated lounge hummed with activity and neo soul music making it a very busy area in the expo. Platters of cheese and fruit were placed at each end of the bar creating a comfortable and creative place for attendees to enjoy. We were treated to generous pours of Moet Champagne served from what seemed like a bottomless magnum of the sparkling wine. It’s no wonder why the Moet Hennessy brand is known around the world for their phenomenal products and luxury lifestyle.

2. Media Lounge – This area was specially designed as a hub for media and press. This gave us an area to sit down, relax, even charge our cell phones. The lounge featured a bar with regularly rotating snacks. The lounge had a large restroom area with no lines and plenty of room to get comfortable. It was in the media lounge where we met Camille of VinExpo. Her team extended us the invitation to attend and cover VinExpo. Our chance meetings in the media lounge are what trade shows are made for.

3. In Expo Restaurants/Pop up restaurants – Tickets to the VinExpo are incredibly affordable.  While the tasting samples are complimentary, all food purchases are separate. The expo invited selected a few Paris area restaurants to set up shop inside the event hall. Not only did the restaurants feature a curated food and beverage menu, they also designed and erected small replicas of their restaurants on the expo floor. This takes bringing the party to the customer to a whole new level. Attendees who may not have the time to venture into the city to experience authentic Parisian cuisine, could partake in a delicious meal from an actual French restaurant without leaving the expo. Brilliant way to incorporate local businesses. 

Honorable Mention

Public transportation in France is top notch. The bus and train system connect the rural countryside to the fast paced city center. Public transport is also incredibly affordable and is used by the affluent and working class alike. We took a very comfortable train ride from Paris center to Angouleme on our way to Cognac Country. The train featured an on board restaurant that served everything from wine and coffee to snacks and toiletries. I felt very safe on the voyage and wondered why our American train system isn’t more accessible. 

BevCon 2016

The Cocktail Bandits, were so excited to attend the first ever BevCon!! It took place at the Hyatt Place on  August 21st through August 23 in Charleston, South Carolina. BevCon is a 3 day conference for beverage professionals by beverage professionals focusing on ALL THINGS DRINKABLE: coffee, soda, juice, beer, wine and spirits.  It’s more intimate than most food and wine festivals, and is only for people in the beverage industry. This meant that classes were more in depth and business focused. Each day we learned about something or someone new in the industry, which is what this conference was  all about.

Day 1.
The first day of BevCon, we took a morning Rum excursion around Charleston Harbor. It was incredible. Paul Yellin, from Cane’s Rhum bar curated some tasty bites to pair with our cocktails as Rum author, Robert Moss, gave us  rum knowledge. It was a perfect way to start off the conference.

The opening event happened at High Wire Distllery, is where Angel Postell, the founder of BevCon spoke about the mission of this event. After the greetings and salutations, we were able to sample different foods and drinks, all while listening to live music. It was a hot day, but everyone managed to have a good time.

Day 2
Day two was the beginning of the seminars.
The very first seminar was about the definition of “craft”. This was an interesting panel that was comprised of 5 different business owners, all talking about what craft meant to them. A few of them wanted to get rid of the word, but the others appreciated the term because they felt their product is indeed craft. It was an interesting discussion.

The next seminar was called “Getting Inked”, which was a panel of influential media people such as Kat Kinsmen, F&B writer for Extra Crispy and Hanna Raskin, the F&B writer for Post and Courier. They were educating us bar professionals about different ways to get published. Some of their tips were; ‘to NOT overload Media inboxes with random press releases and to make sure whatever you want published has some relevance to the author or editor writing topic.’  What we found most interesting about this panel, was that there were NO social media influencers involved. It will be interesting to hear from the SOCIAL MEDIA perspective next year. Since that such a huge outlet for the Food and Beverage industry now.

The final seminar we attended on day 2, was a class called, “How Far You Can Twist a Classic?” This class discussed how a classic cocktail, the French 75, can be modernized, but still remain a French 75. Kat Kinsmen led this session, she has been on the hunt for French 75’s for the last 5 years! She has tried numerous renditions of this classic beverage and wanted show us two very different ways that 1 cocktail can be created.

 

She invited two Atlanta bartenders, Tiffanie Barriere, and Jenique Keyatta Holder-Mincey to create their versions of the French 75. Tiffanie created her CLASSIC cocktail with Cognac, lemon juice, and simple syrup, then topped with champagne. Jenique’ created her French 75 with a twist.  She used gin, lemon juice, guava, and then topped it with champagne. Both were delicious and it proved that it is more than one way to create the same drink.

BAR TAKEOVERS

After the classes ended on Day 2 and 3, there were about 10 bar takeovers each night. We couldn’t make it to all of them, for obvious reasons, but we did go to Canes Rhum Bar, McCrady’s Tavern, Bar Mash, The Ordinary, The Grocery and Proof. Our favorite bar takeover was at The Rarebit with Tiffanie and Jenique. We had a great time with them, their cocktails were amazing, they played awesome music and the bar was packed! We danced there until they closed the spot!

Day 3

Day three was packed with seminars just like the other two days. What we enjoyed about the last day was the tasting room at the end of the day. This was not a conventional tasting session. There were over 30 different beverages to sample; and most of the special sips came from small companies. We were honored to sample some of the most exclusive brands.

FINALE
The final Bev Con event took place at the Windjammer on IOP. There was good food, cocktails and music ALL NIGHT! Angel Postell and her crew did an amazing job putting on the FIRST BevCon event in Charleston. We appreciated being around some of the best and brightest in the industry.

 

If you missed out on this fantastic event it will be back August 20-22, 2017. We will be back. We hope to see you there!