More than 50,000 tasting pass holders were able to appreciate the diversity of Bordeaux wines at the Appellation Pavilions and Vintage Pavilions. A third of all participants chose a Duo Pass to share their tasting pleasure with someone else. Furthermore, nearly 600 people procured a vineyard pass in order to go on excursions organised by the Bordeaux Tourist Office during the THE BORDEAUX WINE FESTIVAL. The Tourist Office's year-round programme for discovering the Bordeaux wine country was expanded for the occasion. At least five tours a day were available to the Médoc, Graves, Sauternes, Saint-Emilion, Blaye and Bourg, or Entre-Deux-Mers regions.

 

Three new workshops tutored by the Bordeaux Wine School – introductory courses, how to match food & wine food, and how to mix cocktails – beat all previous attendance records: 3,453 people took part in these workshops over 4 days, amounting to a 57% increase compared to the previous festival. The presence of many foreign (English, American, Russian, Finnish, etc.), wine enthusiasts at these courses has led the CIVB Bordeaux Wine Council – who had already doubled the number of sessions in 2010 compared to 2008 – to plan on offering sessions in English starting in 2012.

 

The Festiv'attitude operation, conducted by the Union des Oenologues de France, was also a success. Over 1,500 visitors accepted to blow into breathalyser terminals in the  estiv'attitude area, one of the most popular at the festival. The vast majority of visitors had clearly understood the importance of moderation, and were not found to be inebriated, even if tested just before leaving the festival. Oenologists, who are all too infrequently in direct contact with consumers, were able to transmit their passion and their message of moderation to 900 people a day. Festiv'attitude, organised by the City of Bordeaux, will continue to take place throughout 2010 in shopping centres and places where people go to celebrate.

 

Gastronomy was emphasised in several ways at this year's festival: cooking workshops, wine & food sessions, food pavilions, and prestigious dinners. Half of the 600 guests at the Passions Etoilées dinner prepared by young Michelin star chefs from Bordeaux and chef François Blais from Quebec were (predominantly English) Masters of Wine.  This dinner, organised in  conjunction with the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, symbolises the spirit of the festival, which brings together both wine enthusiasts and wine professionals. The Harmonie 1855 exhibition, organised with the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 and based on the book "Grands Crus Classés, grands chefs étoilés, Bordeaux 1855", presented illustrations on the ends of barrels supplied by the Nadalié cooperage of 87 recipes from the world's greatest chefs associated with 87 classified growths.

 

Everyone agreed that this was one of the highlights of the 7th Bordeaux Wine Festival. This exhibition will travel to Hong Kong from the 28th to the 31st of October 2010 for the second Wine and Dine Festival (the first event outside Bordeaux based on the Bordeaux concept).

 

Bringing together people from the world of wine as well as personalities from various walks of life, the Fête de la Fleur – a meal organised by the Commanderie du Bontemps Médoc et Graves, Sauternes et Barsac – took place this year on the Place des Quinconces. This event was also an allusion to the first Bordeaux wine festival held in 1909 at the foot of the Monument aux Girondins!

 

The first Bordeaux Music Festival, held on the Place des Quinconces, attracted 20,000 people at three concerts performed by famous international artists such as the Italian-American tenor Michael Fabiano, the soloist Béatrice Uria-Monzon, the Dutch conductor Pieter-Jelle de Boer, Avishai Cohen from New York, Roberto Fonsecale from Cuba, young musicians from the Rock School Barbey (0800 and Hangar), as well as Philemon, Marie-Alice Depestre, Jonathan Roy, Mlle Fizz, Clio, etc. from Quebec. The "Québec à Coeur" evening gave rise to a great deal of interest from the French recording industry, who signed up the group "The Lost Fingers" for a 12-city European tour starting in mid-October.

A universal theme, the creation of the world in 7 days, was lavishly represented in a sound and light show entitled Les sens du vin ("Wine and the Senses") projected on 4,000 m² of beautiful 18th century buildings on Place de la Bourse. This was followed by a different and hugely popular firework display each evening!

THE BORDEAUX WINE FESTIVAL was also the occasion for the Institute of the Masters of Wine, the Union des Oenologues de France and the Sauvignon Concours Mondial to organise their events. This was unquestionably away of acknowledging the Festival's importance to the world of wine. Several hundred convention goers were able to combine work, pleasure, and the thrill of discovering a city enlivened by an incredible atmosphere of celebration.

For the first time, and in just two months, THE BORDEAUX WINE FESTIVAL also aroused the interest of more than 3,000 fans and friends on Facebook and Twitter. These sites were mostly used to arrange to meet at the festival, to ask questions and to make comments. They also provided French visitors with the opportunity to see their friends at THE BORDEAUX WINE FESTIVAL and to spend an enjoyable weekend with them in Bordeaux.

 

The Bordeaux Town Hall pavilion was entirely devoted to the future Wine Culture and Tourism Centre. This was the first time the project had ever been presented to the public. It was much admired by visitors as well as tourist industry professionals from other French regions and abroad.

 

Several hundred Quebeckers took advantage of the new direct air link with Bordeaux via Air Transat to come to the festival. This new route also enabled the Bordelais to discover the charms of Quebec City as well as the employment opportunities in a region that lacks qualified workers. In fact, the local economic development agency met more than 1,000 potential immigrants! Some 16,000 people visited the Quebec City pavilion at the Bordeaux Wine Festival.

 

Accompanied by a large delegation, Régis Labeaume, Mayor of Québec City, celebrated Quebec's provincial holiday in Bordeaux. This was an important symbol of the strong and dynamic relationship between the two sister cities. Impressed with the festival's concept and its economic impact, Mayor Labeaume announced on Sunday that, in agreement with Mayor Alain Juppé and the CIVB Bordeaux Wine Council, teams from Quebec city and Bordeaux will produce a feasibility study for creating a similar event in 2012 in Quebec City to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the twinning.

 

- 500,000 visitors from France and abroad

- 50,000 tasting pass holders

- 52,000 bottles opened

- 600,000 individual tastings

- 600 vineyard passes sold

- 2,290 people who attended Wine School workshops

- Facebook andTwitter: over 3,000 fans and friends

- Budget of 2.5 million euros

- Over 50 public and private partners

- 800-1,000 winegrowers present for 4 days

- Participation of 250 artists

- 240 journalists from France and abroad

- Surface area that went from 1.5 hectares for the 1st festival to approximately 6 hectares for the 7th

- Organisation involving 1,500 people

- An estimated economic return of 20 millions euros: a direct and indirect economic impact of 15.5 million € from visitors, 3.5 million € relative to the organisation and 1 million € from business tourism.