Laurent Delaunay - The new Chairman of the BIVB

On Friday, December 15, the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) held its traditional end-of-year General Meeting.

The first part of the meeting was devoted to signing off the accounts for the 2022-2023 financial year and taking stock of its activities.

The second part saw the transfer of power from François Labet to Laurent Delaunay. Mr Delaunay, of the négoce family, becomes Chairman of the BIVB for the next two years. François Labet, who has held the position since 2021, will assist him as Co- Chairman.

Mr Delaunay immediately took the floor to congratulate some of his predecessors, in particular Pierre-Henry Gagey, Frédéric Drouhin and the late Louis-Fabrice Latour: "They are the people who 'trained' me and made me want to give something back to the industry…,” he said. He also asked for a minute's silence as a tribute to Pau Roca, Director of the OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine), who died the previous week, saying: "I would like to pay tribute to this staunch defender of the industry, both within the Spanish Wine Federation and during his term of office at the OIV, where he played an important role, recognised by all. He was the driving force behind the OIV coming to Dijon and the organisation of the 2024 Congress (see further below)."

The new Chairman then turned to his new role, saying: "Our Wine Board is a complex entity: it brings together many different areas of expertise and is made up of professionals at the top of their game who we can call on. It also interacts with a whole ecosystem and a large number of interlocutors (at local, regional, national and international levels)."

He then outlined some of the priorities for the next two years:

THE ENVIRONMENT, which requires the BIVB to have "our plan Objectif Climat (where reducing the Bourgogne wine industry carbon emissions is the goal) at the centre of our roadmap". Having validated the main areas of action in June 2023, "we now need to roll out our plan step by step".

He said to achieve this, the industry's many partners needed to be involved in the process: "We won't be able to succeed in our carbon plan without involving all those working in associated industries (coopers, manufacturers and distributors of vineyard and wine-making equipment, manufacturers of dry materials etc.)” This, he said, is likely to involve "platforms for discussion and consultation".

Mr Delaunay is also calling for discussions in the form of conferences to be held in the heart of the vineyards to present "innovative initiatives linked to ecological transition (...) There is an incubator for ideas and skills here that we need to develop."
THE ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT OF THE SECTOR. Mr Delaunay said he aspires to "modernise our approach to the sector through contractual practices and the economic regulation of our supply". To cope with fluctuations in Bourgogne's wine production, "we need to think collectively (...) about the tools we can put in place to move from marketing a harvest that we are working on, to marketing an available product that is controlled over the medium term according to our commercial needs. These tools already exist. We don't have to invent anything, other than a will to harness them together in the interests of our two families.”
Improving COMMUNICATION IN THE INDUSTRY, to better disseminate the economic and technical information available, "perhaps by relying more on the families who maintain daily links with their members".
DEFENDING APPELLATIONS, especially internationally, for which "we need to be our own watchdogs and set up simple, responsive procedures.”