Omicron delays Millésime Bio, but not Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris

he start of 2022 is not unlike the winters of 2020 and 2021. Just as with previous waves of Covid-19, the health crisis currently fuelled by the Delta and Omicron variants is causing a string of in-person events to be postponed. But not every event on the calendar has been swept up by this latest wave – some organisers are banking on a downward trend to the epidemic, or even the possibility of living with coronavirus.

Examples include an announcement by the board of directors at Millésime Bio on 6 January that they were postponing the in-person event by five weeks to avoid the worst of this latest surge in the epidemic. The physical exhibition is now scheduled to take place at the Montpellier exhibition centre from Monday 28 February to Wednesday 2 March, while its digital alter ego will run on Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 January (i.e. on the original dates of the in-person exhibition, scheduled for Monday 24 to Wednesday 26 January). In stark contrast to this, the organisations behind Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris stated on 7 January that their event would go ahead from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 February at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre.

Based on a survey carried out last week among the 1,450 exhibitors at the show, Jeanne Fabre, chair of the Millésime Bio association, stressed that the desire to postpone the event clearly prevailed: “There is a real fear of fewer business opportunities. Normally, as a trade show gets nearer, you see an exponential curve in visitor registrations. This trend was not triggered due to the new variant.” Another reason for postponing the exhibition was that “at this point in time, the prefect is not in a position to authorise stand-up tastings. We can hold a trade show [at the end of January], but there is little point if you cannot taste the wines”, said a reluctant Fabre.

“You need nerves of steel to organise a trade show in February”, admits Rodolphe Lameyse, CEO of Vinexposium (the umbrella group for the organisers of Vinexpo, Vinisud and VinoVision). Although the decision to go ahead with the Paris event was made collectively, its organisers know full well that the responsibility for holding it lies solely with them, but they look to firm and consistent commitments by the authorities not to introduce new attendance thresholds over the coming weeks. As it stands, Lameyse stresses that “it is our responsibility, for ourselves and for the industry, to be there on the scheduled dates. [...] The peak of the epidemic is apparently behind us and we now seem to be witnessing a decline”.