Bastien Soulères to manage Chantovent and its Languedoc wines

ounded in 1953, Chantovent – the packaging and marketing division of Languedoc co-operative group Jean d’Alibert and the Haut-Minervois producers’ group (1,200 growers, 6,000 hectares and 380,000 hl) – has recruited Bastien Soulères as the chairman of its board. Soulères graduated from Rennes School of Business and also holds a technical diploma in winemaking and oenology from AgroSup Dijon. He takes over at the helm of the company which is based in Bonnières-sur-Seine near Paris and has five bottling lines, as part of plans to “drive Chantovent’s revival”, as per a press statement.

A symbol of this revival is the “Miss Anaïs brand of PGI Pays d’Oc rosé, which is reporting robust growth of 45% so far this year and should top the equivalent of 2.5 million bottles”, adds the statement. Concurrently with this, the company is leveraging its portfolio of long-standing brands, which include “La Payse, Chantarel, J.A. by Jean d’Alibert and Chemin des Lions, as well as a selection of chateaux and estates including Château Rivière to which it has exclusive rights”. Chantovent’s range also embraces Vin De France, PGI Pays d’Oc, AOP Minervois and Cru La Livinière.

Forty-year-old Bastien Soulères brings the group his experience of brands and marketing, “after more than fifteen years spent at the head of marketing departments and subsidiary companies in the consumer goods and drinks industries (Lactel, Vita Coco, BOS Tea, Calypso Lemonades, Mogu Mogu…), before focusing on his passion for wine”. His approach is defined by “his strong brand culture, operational expertise and a demanding approach to collaborative management”, stresses the statement.