Jourdan on #WineWednesday / On Luxury and Wine

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(This post “Jourdan on #WineWednesday / On Luxury and Wine” was written by Guillaume Jourdan. You can reach him at info@vitabella.fr or via Linkedin.)​

My interview this month in the new SPECIAL FOOD section in the French publication CB News – the magazine of reference in the sphere of communication, marketing and media – gave me food for thought. It was about the brand strategy that French agriculture is about to introduce and VitaBella’s experience in the wine business. When I attended the New York Times International Luxury Conference on “Luxury beyond product” in Paris at round about the same time, I was able to appreciate the degree of complexity that exists in the world in which we live and work every day where Agriculture lives right alongside the world of Luxury.

Yes indeed, Agriculture and Luxury have certain values in common! In discussions with Marco Bizzarri (CEO of GUCCI), Oscar Farinetti (founder of EATALY), Thomas Serrano (Chairman of HAVAS Luxe) and Simon Nyeck (Director of the ESSEC MBA in Luxury Brand Management) you quickly grasp that the human dimension, that had no doubt been lost in the past, is making a comeback in the world of Luxury goods. Whilst in the wine industry (which is a branch of agriculture), the human element has always been primordial. Not only was the discussion interesting, but it also showed that Wine and Luxury have many more common values than you might at first think. And the direction the big luxury brands are now taking will showcase them even more convincingly in the future.

How many people did not understand the association of these two words, Wine and Luxury, when I created VitaBella Luxury & Lifestyle in 2004? No doubt too deeply rooted in our culture, this product of the land could not be associated with the codes of luxury brands that were sometimes criticised for their approach perceived as overly “marketing”. But times are changing. Those close to the land have moved closer to these international markets to develop their brands worldwide and luxury brands have moved closer to these men and women who create and produce every day, re-appropriating the codes of craftsmanship and hand-made goods. The human touch has returned to its place at the heart of Luxury. A talk with Brunelli Cuccinelli (creator of the eponymous brand name) is all it takes to understand the change that is taking place at the moment in this industry.

“Come out on top” – that was my recommendation to French Agriculture in my interview in CB news. That at least is the strategy we have put in place for many wine brands throughout the world from the start, and it is paying off. But we still have a long way to go before we convince the many sceptics that this movement is here to stay and that we can’t turn the clocks back…

(*Since 2003, Guillaume Jourdan has been advising more than 200 prestigious wine estates for their international marketing & communication strategy incl. Chapoutier, Hugel, Dr Loosen, Famille Perrin, Cos d’Estournel, Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie’s Miraval…Write to info@vitabella.fr)​