Vinexpo Bordeaux 2019 tackles climate change’s growing impacts on wine and spirits industry in groundbreaking symposium, May 14

BORDEAUX, France – May 3rd, 2019 – As socio-economic sectors across the world begin to feel the consequences of global climate change, its future impacts on the wine and spirits industry are growing increasingly clear. Vinexpo Bordeaux 2019, the world’s leading meeting place for wine and spiritsprofessionals, will address the issue head-on with a groundbreaking symposium—its first ever—on May 14, the second day of its four-day show in the wine capital of the world, Bordeaux, France. The full-daysymposium will include three conferences exploring the effects of climate change on the world’s vineyards,vineyard management and winemaking, and the wine economy, respectively. Offered in association with Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council and moderated by CNN correspondent Jim Bittermann, the sessionswill bring together some of the world’s foremost scientists, economists, academics and wine industryprofessionals, and will be followed by expert roundtables and debates.

In addition to its inaugural symposium, Vinexpo Bordeaux 2019 will feature four full days of exhibitions, networking opportunities, and educational sessions. It will be held at Bordeaux’s Parc des Expositions, just20 minutes from the historic town center and some of the world’s most storied vineyards.

*Attendees can register online at a special price of €40 through May 12; the price will increase to €60 online or at the door starting May 13!

The Impact of Climate Change on Global Vineyards

With certain consequences already visible in socio-economic sectors across the world, global climate change is an undeniable reality. This conference will explore the growing impacts of declining water supplies, more frequent extreme weather events and rising temperatures on grapevines—a notoriously sensitive crop—and the viticulture industry at large. Joining Bittermann will be special guest speakers Michel Jarraud, secretary-general emeritus of the United Nations World Meteorological Organization, and Jean-Robert Pitte, president of the Society of Geography and the French Wine Academy and former president of the Sorbonne.

The conference will be followed by an interview with master of wine Jeannie Cho Lee, MW, and conclude with a roundtable, How to Produce and Adapt in Unstable Environmental Conditions. Keynote speakers for the roundtable include Laurent Panigai, oenologist and deputy director general of the Wine Center –Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte; Jonathan Ducourt, sales and marketing manager of Vignobles Ducourt; and Catherine Le Page, managing director of National Cognac Office. Also participating via a recorded interview will be Gregory V. Jones, director of the Evenstad Center for Wine Education, Evenstad chair in Wine Studies, and professor of environmental studies at Linfield College in Oregon.