Celebrating 100 years of the OIV

Over the past century, the wine industry has undergone a remarkable transformation. 

Recently the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV) centenary event on November 29 offered a poignant look at that journey.

Celebrating 100 years of the OIV, the event provided a fascinating retrospective on global vine and wine trends while setting the stage for the industry’s future.

A week earlier, I had met Baker at the OIV headquarters in Dijon. I had the privilege of completing my MSc in Wine Business Management through the OIV program.

My commencement marked not just the culmination of years of study but also an opportunity to listen to a truly memorable address by John Mr. Barker, the OIV’s director general, who shared ideas that echoed many of the themes later explored at the centenary event.

His earlier remarks offered a fitting precursor to what I would read about and reflect on from afar when the official address took place. It was a reminder of how closely linked the past, present, and future of wine truly are.

At the 100-year celebration, Mr. Barker presented a sweeping overview of the industry’s evolution.

 

Wine Consumption Past and Present

Back in 1924, Europe accounted for over 90% of global wine consumption—a staggering figure that reflects how localized wine culture once was.

Today, that picture is vastly different. The United States leads the world in terms of both volume and value of wine consumption, with Asia emerging as another significant market.

Hearing Mr. Barker’s earlier take on these trends during my commencement ceremony, I’d been struck by how completely wine has transcended its Eurocentric roots to become a global cultural and economic phenomenon.

An even more striking shift has occurred in trade. In the 1920s, a mere 10% of global wine production was exported; now, nearly half of all wine crosses borders before finding its way into consumers’ glasses.

Countries like Chile, Australia, and New Zealand have become export powerhouses, demonstrating that quality wines can thrive far beyond their traditional strongholds.

 

Geographical Diversification

In his commencement-day remarks, Mr. Barker had highlighted how this globalization has brought resilience to the industry.

“The geographical diversification of production has balanced climate impacts, contributing to greater global stability in production over the years,” he said.

Revisiting Mr. Barker’s thoughts through the lens of the centenary highlights made it even clearer how crucial this diversification is in a world increasingly shaped by environmental uncertainty.

 

 

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Climate Change

Climate change was a major focus at both events.

And ironically, I got a first-hand taste at the drastic nature of climate change when I landed at CDG airport in Paris on Thursday November 21.

Paris had been hit by a powerful snowstorm. As we drove from the Paris airport to Dijon, we encountered the A6 highway closed due to ice and spent 12 hours trapped in a car between miles of trucks. The weather had hit in such an unexpected fashion there was no time for authorities to issue a warning.

Imagine the situation for vignerons who have and could face similar drastic climate events now and in the future.

It is the undeniable challenge of our time, and the wine industry is already feeling its effects, with volatile weather leading to historically low production in 2023 and 2024.

Mr. Barker has been forthright about the need for innovation to address this crisis, and the OIV’s 2025-2029 Strategic Plan reflects that urgency. With sustainability, global cooperation, and advanced viticultural techniques at its core, the plan seeks to safeguard both the environment and the livelihoods tied to wine production.

Beyond the climate crisis, Mr. Barker—and the centenary discussion as a whole—emphasized the importance of understanding evolving consumer preferences.

Low-alcohol and organic wines are growing rapidly in popularity, while younger consumers increasingly prioritize sustainable packaging and immersive wine experiences.

These shifting trends create opportunities for producers willing to embrace change and adapt to emerging demands.

Trade and equity also remain central pillars of the OIV’s vision. With nearly half of all wine now consumed outside its country of origin, the industry must prioritize fair trade practices, reduce barriers, and support smaller-scale producers seeking access to international markets.

 

OIV’s Long-Term Strategy

These themes were touched on during my commencement and delved into more comprehensively during the November 29 address, lending important context to the OIV’s long-term strategy.

Though I had to leave Dijon before the centenary event on November 29, reading about the event and reflecting on Mr. Barker’s commencement remarks has made me feel connected to this moment in history.

It is inspiring to see the wine industry embrace a bold vision for the future—one rooted in resilience, innovation, and sustainability—while honoring the legacy of its past.

For me, both as a new graduate and someone deeply invested in the global wine business, it’s an exciting time to step into this dynamic field.

The past 100 years have demonstrated just how adaptable and forward-looking the industry can be. I, like so many others, am eager to see what the next century will bring.

 

 

 

Marisa DVari

Marisa D'Vari, DipWSET is founder and publisher of TheLuxuryReport.com. She recently obtained her OIV MSc diploma in Wine Business Management and contributes to Forbes.com, Financial Times, World of Fine Wine, Quarterly Review of Wine, Decanter Robb Report, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post , and more. She holds the (WSET) diploma, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators ... to see it all, please click on bio

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Lawrence Cronin of Tenuta di Arceno - Winemaker Interview

How did you end up in the wine business?

I started out as a chemist and finished university for chemical toxicology. My first “real” job was as a chemist in the Sierra Foothills in California.

 On the weekends in search of swimming holes and waterfalls, one passed by many wineries. It was there that began my scientific “tasting” of wine.

My first love was a Renwood Barbera. Going back further, I was born in New York City to Sicilian and Irish parents. I grew up in NYC and New Jersey in the almost cliché Italian family with an Uncle Tony, Uncle Rocky, Cousin Vinny, etc.

My first memories of wine were my Uncle Gus in the La-Z-Boy with the gallon glass jug of homemade wine at his side. Growing up my grandmother still lived in Sicily, and we still have the family house to this day, so the Italian roots (though Americanized) were never that far.

Back to California, when I was in the Sierra Foothills my mother moved from Long Beach Island, New Jersey to Mendocino, California, which is about a three hour drive from where I lived. I often visited her in Mendocino and to get there I had to pass through the majestic Anderson Valley – Pinot Noir and Chardonnay country.

 

You’ve traveled around the world as a winemaker … how has this shaped the way you make wine and/or manage people?

In terms of making wine, I have learned something everywhere I have worked – good and bad. I hope to learn to avoid the mistakes of others and attempt to apply the positives to my little corner of the world without altering the style. The most important thing to make great wine is to understand the region, which this takes years.

When I look back at my first five years here in the Chianti Classico region, I realize now how much I did not know. In terms of working with people, appreciate how the new world is a little more open. There are less secrets between wineries and less of a distinction and distance between the winemaker and cellar worker. I worked in a winery once where the winemaker walked through the cellar in Ferragamo shoes, a clipboard and a lab coat.

I use my Ferragamo shoes for Saturday night and for wine events.  In the end, I like to think I work with my guys (in boots) and not manage them. Everyone who touches the wine is making the wine. In the end we are five people here in the cellar, everyone makes the wine, and it’s important they each feel part of it.

What advice do you have for Americans who dream of making wine abroad?

This can be something that can be hard to plan, but sometimes things happen and it all falls into place. It’s about being in the right place at the right time and it’s up to the individual to get to the place. If you are a wine student, there are wonderful opportunities to travel and work vintages around the world – wineries always need people around the harvest. It’s great fun, you learn, there is a lot of great wine to drink, and maybe even find some romance along the way. I suggest seeking a small winery where you get to see and be part of everything.

If you had the freedom/money to build your own winery, what type of wine would you produce and where? 

A little place here in Italy with Sangiovese or a little winery in Anderson Valley with Pinot Noir.

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I was not very fulfilled being a chemist, so I packed up and moved to Mendocino. I arrived with no job lined up. On the way, I dropped off resumes at some wineries thinking I could be the lab chemist at a winery. It was June and I got a job as a bartender in an Irish pub and worked the desk at a hippie hot tub/massage place.

That fall, a winery called and offered me a harvest lab position. That was 1995 and the winery was Edmeades, owned by Jackson Family Wines. I am still working for the Jackson family today. Edmeades was the perfect place to learn about wine. I was one of three full time cellar workers and I really enjoyed being so close to the fermentations, the aromas, and seeing the grapes change to wine little by little each day.

It was a rustic, hands-on job and I got a crash course in winemaking. That was the beginning, and since working in California I have worked in New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Sicily and now for almost 20 years here in Toscana (Chianti Classico Region).

How does winemaking differ at Jackson Family Wines’ Estates in California and in Italy?

The weather is quite different here. It stops raining in California in May and starts up again after the harvest. In this part of Italy, it could be a sunny summer day and then thunderstorms could roll in. It is a bit more challenging for things like mildew and botrytis here and changes the approach to farming and the grapes grown.

While California has vintage variations, here, the swing is much greater- hot, dry years create wines with more powerful fruit and the cooler years create more elegant wines with more earthiness.

Initially the biggest winemaking challenge was adapting the winemaking to the varying vintage conditions. For example, the amount of extraction I’m looking for at pump overs depends on the type of year we have. I think winemakers react to the place we are in and make wine according to the soils and the grapes with which we’re working. We have to learn what to do and what not do along the way and adapt.  

I went to university in Syracuse, NY for a couple of years before California and I was friends with a great wrestler there. His approach was  “never conquer, only adapt,” and I keep this philosophy for many things. I can change how I make wine according to the grapes the land gives me, but I can’t change the soul of the land.

Does Italy have more concerns in the winery or the vineyard than other places in the world?

Other than the weather mentioned above, there are more rules here about making wine.

If you’ve been in the position to create a new blend, what factors go into it?

As the vintages are so different, every year feels like a new blend. We make six different wines here and we are in a cycle of planting new blocks and sometimes replanting blocks that have passed their prime. When that fruit comes in, for me, it’s a brand new experience. 

We have some new Sangiovese planted at 550-600 meters from which we will be making a new small batch wine, a Gran Selezione. So for me, a new blend has been born. We make a Super Tuscan here called Arcanum (Etruscan for Arceno). In the past it was a blend of about 60% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, varied a bit year to year.

When I arrived here in 2002, we had 1.2ha of Cabernet Franc and now we have 17ha. Since 2016 we have been able to craft this wine from 100% Cabernet Franc – it’s a blend of different blocks of Cabernet Franc that all have their distinct signature. In the end the vineyards and soil decide the wines and blends.  You won’t succeed for long if you try to force a blend.

Thank you, Mr. Cronin!

 

Marisa DVari

Marisa D'Vari, DipWSET is founder and publisher of TheLuxuryReport.com. She recently obtained her OIV MSc diploma in Wine Business Management and contributes to Forbes.com, Financial Times, World of Fine Wine, Quarterly Review of Wine, Decanter Robb Report, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post , and more. She holds the (WSET) diploma, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators ... to see it all, please click on bio

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Interview with Veronique Saunders of Chateau Haut-Bailly

In a challenging vintage, chateaux with the most resources and the willingness to deploy them are able to make quality wine.

That point was brought home to me in the tasting room of Chateau Haut-Bailly during En Primeur 2012.

Unlike some other chateaux, the Haut-Bailly Grand Vin was very vibrant and well concentrated, with firm tannins and a sleek yet plush structure and a long finish of concentrated ripe blackberries.

Veronique Saunders: Crop Thinning Necessary

According to the Veronique Saunders of Chateau Haut-Bailly, what gave this Grand Vin quality was vigorous pruning, crop thinning, selective hand picking, and strict sorting controls.

Chateau Haut-Bailly’s vineyards date from 1461.

Today it is run by General Manager Veronique Sanders, whose family purchased the property in the last century, then sold to the American banker Robert Wilmers.

Recently I caught up with Veronique Sanders to discuss the 2013 Vintage.

Q: Can you describe the sorting steps? For example, did you take time to give the workers picking the grapes more instructions than usual?

Pickers are trained to sort in the vineyard and we also examine each berry on sorting tables.

In the cellar, we have a new machine called the Cube giving a result much softer than what the classic de-stemmer car achieve.

Q: What kind of work did you do in the vineyard through the 2013 growing season?

Teams removed leaves from the rows and cut the green grapes.

In addition to our technical skills, the professional expertise of our teams insured timely reaction and optimal management in the circumstances.

Q: Did you do anything different in the winery?

Alcoholic fermentation in concrete mini-vats guaranteed a meticulous vinification to draw the finest qualities from every plot.

Very soft pumping over at a cooler temperature than usual in a way to preserve fruit and balance.

Q: Finally, any word how the young wine is turning out?

It is still too soon to know how each plot can turn out in two to three months.

Our Old Vines (about 15% of the vineyard is about 120 years old) are giving attractive wines, with harmonious balance.

We are positively surprised.  Malolactic fermentation finished at the end of December.

Our first tastings in January suggest we will make a smaller proportion of Haut-Bailly than usual respecting our usual high level of quality.

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Adrien Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier – The Interview

Adrien Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier says that the 2015 vintage looks to be one of the great ones.

On this visit to En Primeur, my first interview was with Adrien Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier in Graves

Adrien’s father Olivier bought Domaine de Chevalier in 1983, so Adrien and his brother grew up on he estate.

Adrien knows winemaking.

Adrien Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier : Educating the Buying Market

Adrien also has an MBA.

This means he is focused on the business end of the family estate, as well as the growing of the grapes.

Adrian spent many years working in Asia developing the distribution market for his family’s Bordeaux property.

Now, he is living in Bordeaux.

During our conversation, we spent a great deal of time discussing ways of developing a new market, such as China.

Adrien is a firm believer in education.

This means that when he was in Asia, he educated both distributors and consumers on how to taste and appreciate wine.

When he was working in China, not many distributors or consumers spoke French.

Or English.

So Adrian found himself forced to learn and speak the language.

Where Wine Is Consumed in China

What was surprising is that in China, Bordeaux isn’t just consumed on the on-trade (in high end restaurants.)

High end Bordeaux is very popular at Carrefour supermarkets, even more than high end wine shops.

The reason is because local consumers know and respect the brand.

Adrien and Social Media

Adrien and I both spoke at length about the importance of social media.

If you google Domaine de Chevalier on the Internet, you will find dozens of videos of the Olivier family.

In these videos, they discuss the estate and their wines.

One of the key values of social media, Adrien explained, is when people re-post the videos.

One popular video received over 15,000 views in just a two week period.

The Sunday Before En Primeur

The Sunday before En Primeur week can be considered its unofficial kickoff.

It is held at Chateau Guiraud.

The Story of Chateau Guiraud

The reason is that during a dinner in early 2006, industrialist Robert Peugeot and three wine makers:  Olivier Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier, Stephan Von Neipperg of Château Canon La Gaffelière and Xavier Planty, the estate’s director, decided to buy Guiraud.

The goal was to unite their shared passion for wine, gastronomy, nature and hunting in Guiraud, then in need of capital.

The Kickoff at Chateau Guiraud

The kickoff showcases the latest vintage of each producer.

Guests will discover a fine offering of older vintages as well.

That night I also spoke to the charming David Ornon of Chateau Guiraud.

We discussed the export market at length.

I wrote about Sauternes in a feature article for World of Fine Wine.

In that piece, I stated Sauternes should be served at the beginning of a meal, as an aperitif, the way many people now enjoy Champagne.

I had the opportunity to taste the Clos des Lunes brand of white wine from Domaine de Chevalier.

In the tasting, I found it intriguing that it is made in three styles: one matured in stainless steel, one matured with a percentage of new oak, and one matured in 100% new oak.

The reason for this, Adrien explained, is that the estate has a variety of terroir, and some are better suited to oak than others.

Adrien is just as charming as his father Olivier, and has a genuine passion for wine and bringing the message of Domaine de Chevalier around the world.

Here is a video from the Domaine you may like …

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