Wine-events at this year's SIAL in Paris

Since its inception, SIAL, the global reference in food innovation, has attached importance to bringing together people who create innovative wines that are open to the world at large.

In the same way, the SIAL team created the Wine Innovation Forum in 2007 to develop more relevant communication on wine. It comprises a panel of dynamic French brands, led by Yves Bénard, Chairman of the Wines and Spirits Committee in the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine and Chairman of the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV).

The Wine Innovation Forum assembles the major stakeholders in the wine sector to seek responses to the challenges of tomorrow, expand market share and gain new consumers while respecting public health.

The group, including Michel Chapoutier, Gérard Bertrand, the management of Maison Louis Jadot in Burgundy, Ackerman from the Loire Valley, rapidly expanded to include leading European brands such as Torrès and Chivite in Spain, Sogrape in Portugal, Grupo Italiano di Vino in Italy, and more.

The first Wine Innovation Forum distinguished 30 Top Brands that complied with the innovation and value creation criteria set. These innovative companies were invited to present their brand strategy at SIAL 2008 (Paris).

Over the two following years, the Wine Innovation Forum task force met on several occasions to prepare an innovative Fair Brands and Responsible Brands programme.

These socially responsible companies have made a commitment to respect a code of conduct for sustainable development, to share equitably the value developed throughout the channel (upstream, employees and distribution) and to develop a reputation and influence in society at large (responsible drinking and taste, brand social and cultural involvement, strong regional presence).

In 2010, the Wine Innovation Forum established a Fair or Responsible Brand charter with a commitment to progress in the term set for the member brands.

Each of the brands involved in the Wine Innovation Forum has committed to an initiative in one of the six following categories:

* sustainable development
* sharing the value with the wine-producers
* good trading practices
* consumer education and protection
* social and cultural involvement of the brandland improvement (landscaping and maintenance, protection of the environment)

During SIAL, they will give individual accounts of their commitments and the progress achieved.
So isn’t the exhibition the ideal platform for sharing these resolutions?

Examples of conferences on good practices

Some 20 conferences have been scheduled, including:

* Champagne at the spearhead of carbon footprint appraisals
* Wine education and taste awakening for consumers
* New eco-friendly buildings designed for wine estates
* Sharing the value with wine producers, with the commitment to abstain from purchasing grapes below cost
* Pilot scheme for southern Italy (regions) with the creation of a certified “Sustainability” label
* Wine Education programme: a priority to foster responsible drinking and raise consumer awareness of wine culture
* Promotion of renewable sources of energy throughout the Torres properties