People in the wine industry, “you can be proud of what you do every day”, hails French President Emmanuel Macron

hen it comes to wine, “I am very proud of this extraordinary French asset. It is an historic asset with roots going back thousands of years”, stated French President Emmanuel Macron*, on 6 January at city hall in Paris’ fifth arrondissement, during the 2022 awards ceremony hosted by the Revue du Vin de France wine magazine. Named ‘Personality of the Year’ for protecting the interests of the wine industry during his five-year term, the President expressed his love of the wine industry: “You can be proud of what you do every day. And that goes for every strand you represent, whether you are winegrowers, independents, from another family business or a co-operative, merchants, wine merchants, wine tourism stakeholders, sommeliers, restaurateurs, booksellers, magazine historians and every partner, all these professions with a connection to wine”.

The President, who is apparently not following Dry January (or #DryJanuary), continued along the same lines: “You belong to the crafts that have a firm rooting in their local region, but allow us to shine across the globe. I believe the two are not mutually exclusive. And basically, wine illustrates the fact that to be French, we don't have to choose to be narrow-minded. Loving our wine regions, our grape varieties, our climates, our châteaux, these ancient techniques, culinary arts, gastronomy and the wines that go with it, also implies embracing the wide open world. It implies choosing to welcome it in places you have successfully transformed, but also deciding to conquer it by exporting what we do best”.

* The quotes are taken from the official Elysée speech.