Boom in wine innovation from French tech start-ups

French people of the digital generation love and take pride in their wine just as much as previous generations. And they are more and more aware that many people (yes, even French people) just don't understand French wine that well or have limited access when it comes to tasting and buying it. A great shame indeed one might agree.

Most French people generally know a little about their local wines and what they should taste like, but many don't know what a “cépage” (varietal) is, or which ones go into those local wines! However, it seems, now, that many digital entrepreneurs are turning to wine as a logical source of inspiration for their start-ups. They want to change how people approach, drink, buy and taste wine. They have had enough of the stuffy image of French wines and want France to be a leader in the wine innovation world. Just take a look at the programme for the Salon des Vins de Loire (Loire wines trade show).

Numerous wine-related tech start ups will be pitching their ideas there to exhibitors, visitors and journalists in an area dedicated to start-ups. You will be able to hear how new digitally or virtually augmented approaches to tasting wines and exploring vineyards can help promote French wines at home and around the world. And it would appear that the digital transformation of the wine economy is a key topic at other trade fairs around the country too (Vinisud 2017 just launched its Digital Hub).

And once those innovations are exported (with a little assistance in the translation department), it's not just the French who will understand and enjoy their wine more – we all will. Yeh!